James Webb Space Telescope images a distant 'cosmic jellyfish' galaxy

The James Webb Space Telescope captured an image of a jellyfish galaxy, ESO 137-001, as it appeared 8.5 billion years ago, showing gas tendrils with young star groupings. Researchers report the image suggests cluster environments could strip gas and alter galaxies earlier in cosmic history than previously expected.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers imaged a jellyfish galaxy known as ESO 137-001 as it appeared 8.5 billion years ago. The galaxy shows long gas tendrils and bright blue knots that are young star groupings. The object was found in JWST data from the COSMOS deep field, a region chosen for studies of distant galaxies. The image offers new observational detail about how galaxies may have been altered in dense cluster environments early in cosmic history. Key observations: - ESO 137-001 was imaged by JWST and is seen as it existed about 8.5 billion years ago (roughly 5.3 billion years after the Big Bang). - The image shows trailing gas tendrils with bright blue knots interpreted as concentrations of young stars outside the main galactic disk. - Astronomers attribute the trails to ram-stripping, where a galaxy moving through its cluster has gas pushed out by cluster winds. - Researchers reported that this finding indicates cluster environments could strip galaxies and change their properties earlier than previously thought. - The team's results were published Feb. 17 in The Astrophysical Journal, and the researchers plan further JWST study of ESO 137-001 and other jellyfish galaxies. Summary: The JWST image provides direct evidence of environmental processes, such as ram-stripping, affecting galaxy structure during an earlier epoch than some models anticipated. The finding contributes observational detail to studies of how clusters influenced galaxy evolution. The research team intends to continue observing ESO 137-001 and related objects with JWST to investigate these processes further.