The strange discovery of the James Webb telescope: a mysterious signal coming from empty space

This signal, which was detected in two observations of the James Webb Space Telescope, was not present in any of the previous telescope images. The post The strange discovery of the James Webb telescope: a mysterious signal that comes from empty space appeared first on Safir Arjan.

This signal, which was detected in two observations of the James Webb Space Telescope, was not present in any of the previous telescope images.

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The James Webb Space Telescope has detected a mysterious cosmic signal in a part of the sky where there was no known light source in previous images. This signal was recorded in two observations with an interval of 88 days, but there was no trace of it in the previous observations of Hubble and James Webb. Astronomers still do not know what phenomenon caused this signal.

The meaning of "empty space" here is not absolute void and void of matter; Rather, it is a point of the sky where no identifiable object was recorded in the previous images.

This region is located in the constellation Ursa and is part of the "Hubble Deep Field". The Hubble telescope observed it for more than 270 hours and recorded an image containing nearly 10,000 galaxies. Despite extensive research, this point still has unanswered questions.

University of Minnesota researchers used the near-infrared spectrometer of the James Webb Telescope to find objects that may have been hidden from normal observations. Instead of focusing on known objects, they left almost all the instrument's apertures open and scanned the incoming light for emission lines. These lines appear at specific wavelengths and provide information about the properties of cosmic objects.

They were able to attribute six signals to known distant galaxies. But the seventh signal did not match any of the detected objects. This signal appeared as a bright line at a wavelength of about 1.6 µm. The strange thing was that there was no other transmission line next to it.

This signal was recorded in two sets of observations, in August and November 2023, with an interval of 88 days. Researchers also observed it from two different angles to reduce the possibility of instrument error. The signal was detected at both times and in four combined sets of exposures. Therefore, it is unlikely to be a purely random disturbance.

But in previous observations, including the James Webb survey in October 2022, no such signal was recorded. Its brightness is as much as expected to be recorded if it was present at the time of previous observation.

It is possible that the source of the signal was not active at that time or did not yet emit such a bright light. But the current data do not specify when this phenomenon started, how long it lasted, or whether it was active between the two observations.

Scientists have proposed several possible explanations: a galaxy in the early universe, a nearby galaxy, a supernova, or a black hole destroying a star. However, none of these hypotheses are consistent with all available evidence.

To determine the source of the signal, researchers need more detailed observations. Identifying more emission lines can help to determine the distance of the source and to know its nature. Until then, the origin of this signal remains unclear.

Astronomers have published the results of this research in The Astrophysical Journal.