The James Webb Space Telescope has observed the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF), a region of space containing nearly 10,000 galaxies. The telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) captured images of this area for nearly 100 hours, producing one of the deepest views ever taken of the Universe.
This is the longest observation made by Webb in one filter so far, and when combined with data from its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), it allows astronomers to study how galaxies formed and evolved over billions of years. The resulting image reveals more than 2,500 sources, including hundreds of extremely red galaxies that are likely massive or have mature stars.
The new image shows the fine distinctions between different types of infrared light, with orange and red colors representing longer wavelengths and greenish-white galaxies being distant and having high redshifts. Most galaxies appear bright at shorter near-infrared wavelengths, depicted in blue and cyan colors.
This deep observation provides valuable insights into the growth and evolution of galaxies, using Webb’s sharp resolution to resolve their structures and study how their light is distributed.
Source: https://www.sci.news/astronomy/webb-hubble-ultra-deep-field-14107.html