The Webb and Spiderweb protocluster?

This is a cluster of galaxies about 10 billion light-years away, in the process of formation and made up of more than 100 known galaxies. Webb has uncovered new ones in addition to those already discovered!

While the Spider Web protocluster has been studied in detail before, Webb's ability to detect infrared light allows scientists to observe regions of this structure hidden by cosmic dust.

The new galaxies Webb discovered provide important clues about how galaxies grow and the interactions between them as clusters form. While most galaxies in local galaxy clusters are old and have low activity levels, the galaxies in the Spider Web are relatively young.

So what's really surprising? The previously known galaxies in the Spiderweb galaxy cluster are not as dusty as previously thought. This could be because star formation and growth are not triggered by galaxy mergers, but by the effect of gas accumulating in different regions throughout the cluster.

*(The second slide is annotated; they are circled to show the distribution of galaxies in the cluster).

Image description: (Photo 1) Set against the black background of space, this image shows hundreds of galaxies. There are many overlapping objects at various distances. These include large blue foreground stars, some with eight diffraction spikes, and white and pink spiral and elliptical galaxies. Numerous small orange dots appear throughout the scene.

(Photo 2) This annotated image shows the hundreds of galaxies visible in this view, set against the black background of space. There are many objects overlapping at various distances. Dozens of galaxies are individually identified by white circles, and the large white circle in the center of the image highlights the collection of gravitationally bound galaxies in the field. Objects visible in the image include large, blue foreground stars, some with eight diffraction spikes, white and pink spiral and elliptical galaxies, as well as numerous small orange dots visible throughout the scene.

 

Image credits: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, H. Dannerbauer