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There is so much going on inside this 
seemingly tiny galaxy. 

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Nicknamed the Firefly Sparkle for appearing

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like a swarm of lightning bugs on a warm summer night,  

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this galaxy is gleaming with star clusters.

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Due to its long warped arc, researchers easily

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picked out 10 distinct star clusters,

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each of which have been examined in great detail.

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They appear here in shades of pink, purple, and blue.

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The color of each helped scientists to confirm

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that star formation didn’t happen all at once in this galaxy,

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but was staggered through time.

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Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope,

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this is the very first time researchers have detected and  

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examined a galaxy that existed around

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600 million years after the big bang,

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which carries many resemblances to our own Milky Way

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at a similar stage of its own development.

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Researchers can’t predict how this disorganized 
galaxy 

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will take shape over billions of years, 

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but there are two other galaxies “hanging 
out”

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within a tight perimeter that may

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influence how it builds mass as it evolves.

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Each time one galaxy passes another,

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gas condenses and cools, allowing new stars to
  

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form in clumps, adding to the galaxies’ masses. 

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Previously scientists were unsure if it 
would be possible to resolve a galaxy  

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that existed so early in the universe into so 
many distinct components,

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but Webb was able to image the galaxy well for two reasons:

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The first is a benefit of the cosmos:  

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A massive foreground galaxy cluster radically

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enhanced and magnified the distant galaxy’s

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appearance through a natural effect known 
as gravitational lensing.

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When combined with the telescope’s specialization 

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in high-resolution infrared light,  

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Webb delivered unprecedented new 
data about the galaxy’s contents.

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"WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE" logo

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NASA Meatball