{"id":139656,"date":"2021-04-19T10:36:14","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T20:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=139656"},"modified":"2021-04-19T14:36:46","modified_gmt":"2021-04-20T00:36:46","slug":"map-first-galaxies-in-the-universe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/04\/19\/map-first-galaxies-in-the-universe\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> astronomers to help map the first galaxies in the universe"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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IfA<\/abbr> astronomers will help NASA<\/abbr> generate a three-dimensional map of the universe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Institute for Astronomy<\/a> (IfA<\/abbr>) astronomers will play an instrumental role in helping unveil the universe\u2019s very first galaxies, more than 13 billion light years away. On Monday, April 19, NASA<\/abbr> announced the first suite of science programs for its groundbreaking James Webb Space Telescope<\/a> (JWST<\/abbr>), set to launch in October 2021. The IfA<\/abbr> researchers are part of the “COSMOS<\/abbr>-Webb” project, which will be the largest guest observer program in JWST<\/abbr>\u2019s first year of operation.<\/p>\n

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James Webb Space Telescope (Photo credit: NASA<\/abbr>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The IfA<\/abbr> astronomers will conduct detailed follow-up observations of galaxies seen in the JWST<\/abbr> images, using the telescopes on Maunakea. The JWST<\/abbr> is the largest and most powerful space telescope ever built and will succeed NASA<\/abbr>\u2019s Hubble Space Telescope. It is equipped to observe some of the most distant objects in the universe, using upgraded infrared sensitivity and resolution.<\/p>\n

“Ground-based observations from Maunakea will be critical for turning the JWST<\/abbr> images into a three-dimensional map of the universe,” said David Sanders<\/strong>, lead IfA<\/abbr> investigator.<\/p>\n

Sanders and his IfA<\/abbr> team are part of the newly selected COSMOS<\/abbr>-Webb program, comprised of nearly 50 researchers from 30 institutions worldwide, including IfA<\/abbr>, the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT<\/abbr>), and University of Texas at Austin (UT<\/abbr> Austin). The COSMOS<\/abbr>-Webb program will help NASA<\/abbr> map the first galaxies formed at “Cosmic Dawn”, when the universe was less than 1\/20th of its current age.<\/p>\n