Story perspectives

JWST Finds Early Galaxy Formation Dip, Tiny Stars Surge

6/12/2026

Summary

Story summary

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope surveyed 150 sight lines and found a drop in galaxy formation 150-200 million years after the big bang, reported in a 2026 MNRAS paper co-authored by UCL professor Richard Ellis.
The galaxies are 60-70 light-years across—about thirty times smaller than the Milky Way—but form stars twenty times faster.
Ellis says the Square Kilometer Array could detect Lyman-alpha emission from such early galaxies, a result relevant to astrobiology.

1 of 1

Story summary

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope surveyed 150 sight lines and found a drop in galaxy formation 150-200 million years after the big bang, reported in a 2026 MNRAS paper co-authored by UCL professor Richard Ellis.
The galaxies are 60-70 light-years across—about thirty times smaller than the Milky Way—but form stars twenty times faster.
Ellis says the Square Kilometer Array could detect Lyman-alpha emission from such early galaxies, a result relevant to astrobiology.