The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has discovered a handful of possible galaxies that could be among the earliest to ever exist.
Located 13.6 billion light-years away and just 200 million years after the Big Bang, the five galaxy candidates are the earliest ever detected, and likely some of the first to have formed in the ancient universe.
If confirmed by follow-up observations, the ancient galaxies will offer astronomers a test of their best theories of galaxy formation along with unique insights into how matter first coalesced across the cosmos.
The researchers behind the discovery used the phenomenon of gravitational lensing to magnify the faint light from these early galaxies, capturing their first glimmers and pushing the limits of JWST's capabilities.