Discover the Universe’s Deepest Map: A Journey 13.5 Billion Years Back in Time!

Last week, COSMOS released groundbreaking data on galaxies, giving us a deeper look into the universe than ever before. This new project, called COSMOS-Web, boasts a catalog of about 800,000 galaxies, far surpassing the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, which featured only 10,000. The new data stretches back 13.5 billion years, capturing 98% of the universe’s existence.

Caitlin Casey, a physics professor at UC Santa Barbara, leads this collaboration. She remarked, “Our goal was to create a field that was unlike anything done before. If you printed the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, our image would be a 13-foot mural at the same depth.”

The COSMOS-Web image is available for public exploration. Early findings show discrepancies with past theories. Hubble suggested it would take longer for galaxies and black holes to form, but JWST reveals we see about ten times more galaxies than anticipated at these distances. “This surprises us,” Casey said. “The Big Bang needs time for formations, but we’re witnessing an earlier start than expected.”

This data challenges traditional cosmological models, raising questions about how the universe produced light so early. Casey notes that the universe had only about 400 million years to create a billion solar masses of stars, leaving scientists puzzled.

Access to this data is open to all, promoting collaboration among astronomers. Casey emphasizes that broad contributions lead to better science, as diverse minds exploring the same data can uncover new mysteries. Researchers are already submitting papers on the findings to reputable journals like The Astrophysical Journal.

With the vast scale and richness of the COSMOS-Web data, astronomers are poised to deepen our understanding of the universe. The era of accessible cosmic exploration is here, opening doors to new questions and discoveries.



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