A groundbreaking international survey using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed unprecedented insights into the early universe. COSMOS-Web, led by Rochester Institute of Technology Associate Professor Jeyhan Kartaltepe, has made a treasure trove of early galaxies available to scientists and the public.
The team’s full data set, including a catalog and interactive viewer, provides the largest look at the deep universe ever. By mapping 0.54 square degrees of the sky with JWST’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI), they discovered nearly 800,000 galaxies.
“We’re able to find galaxies in the very early universe and study their properties in detail,” said Kartaltepe. “The quality of the data still blows us away. It is so much better than expected.”
COSMOS-Web’s catalog delivers a combination of sensitivity, spatial resolution, and field-of-view, enabling scientists to make groundbreaking discoveries. The raw data retrieved during the survey was vast and difficult for scientists to work through, but the public availability of the catalog takes that work out of the equation.
The team used JWST imaging, ground-based telescope data, and previous COSMOS data to create the catalog, which provides unprecedented insights into galaxy evolution. “With MIRI, we’re now accessing an unprecedented level of detail in this wavelength range, providing new insights into the processes driving galaxy evolution and the growth of black holes,” said Santosh Harish.
The release also includes an interactive viewer where users can directly search images for specific objects or click on objects to see their properties. Two new studies highlight the wide scientific potential of the catalog, including tracing how galaxies shut down star formation and using AI-driven methods to estimate key galaxy properties.
COSMOS-Web marks a significant milestone in space observation and data analysis, opening the door to a future of understanding and discovery like never before.
Source: https://www.rit.edu/news/cosmos-web-opens-window-universe-scientists-and-citizens