CBS News
Earliest and most distant known galaxy spotted by James Webb telescope
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope spotted the earliest and most distant galaxy known to researchers, according to a news release from the space agency.
The galaxy was spotted as astronomers and scientists studied what’s known as “Cosmic Dawn,” or the era right after the Big Bang when early galaxies were formed. Early galaxies can tell researchers about how gas, stars and black holes formed and changed when the universe was very young, NASA said, and this first galaxy provides even more unique insight.
The galaxy was observed just 290 million years after the Big Bang. Researchers have already found hundreds of galaxies from about 650 million years after the event. This distant galaxy was observed for the first time in early 2023 and photographed in October of that year. In January 2024, a James Webb Space Telescope camera spent ten hours observing the galaxy, known as JADES-GS-z14-0.
Scientists found that the galaxy had a redshift, or wavelength of light, that showed just how far away it was from Earth.
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Brant Robertson (UC Santa Cruz), Ben Johnson (CfA), Sandro Tacchella (Cambridge), Phill Cargile (CfA)
“Seeing this spectrum was incredibly exciting for the whole team,” said Stefano Carniani from Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, and Kevin Hainline from the University of Arizona in the NASA news release. “This discovery was not just a new distance record for our team; the most important aspect of JADES-GS-z14-0 was that at this distance, we know that this galaxy must be intrinsically very luminous.”
Researchers were able to determine that the light source seen by the telescope is over 1,600 light-years across, proving that it is from “young stars” and not from a black hole. The amount of starlight seen, Carniani and Hainline said, “implies that the galaxy is several hundreds of millions of times the mass of the Sun.”
Some of the light seen in the galaxy is reddened by dust, and instruments on the James Webb Space Telescope detected wavelengths that indicate the presence of strong ionized gas emissions, including hydrogen and oxygen. The presence of oxygen “is a surprise and suggests that multiple generations of very massive stars had already lived their lives before we observed the galaxy,” Carniani and Hainline said.
The scientists said it’s possible that other researchers will detect even more luminous galaxies using the James Webb Space Telescope. Those galaxies may be from even earlier in the Cosmic Dawn and teach astronomers about the foundation of the universe.
CBS News
Kamala Harris will speak with “60 Minutes” tomorrow. Here’s what to know for the interview.
Voters will get the chance to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday as she presents her case for why she should be president in a “60 Minutes” election special.
For decades, “60 Minutes” has featured both Republican and Democratic nominees for presidents, but this year, former President Donald Trump backed out after previously indicating he would be on the show. Correspondent Scott Pelley, who’d been set to interview Trump, will instead travel to Arizona’s Maricopa County, home to more than 60% of Arizona’s voters and a critical battleground in a key swing state.
One thing is certain about the election; with the U.S. deeply involved in both the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, whoever wins on Nov. 5 will become a wartime president.
What Harris will discuss
Israel’s war started one year ago after Hamas launched a surprise terror attack and correspondent Bill Whitaker will discuss the ongoing war with Harris.
Harris will also discuss the economy, immigration, her record as vice president and the differences between herself and Trump.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz will also appear.
Whitaker joined the Democratic ticket on the campaign trail this week to gain insight into their platform’s priorities and values, and what the candidates believe voters should know.
Why Trump pulled out of the “60 Minutes” interview
Leading up to the candidate hour, Trump, through campaign spokespeople, was the first candidate to accept the “60 Minutes” request to be interviewed for the special, according to CBS News. It had been agreed that both candidates would receive equal time during the broadcast.
Trump last sat down with 60 Minutes in 2020. He walked out during the interview with Lesley Stahl. Trump referenced the incident on Tuesday night at a Milwaukee press conference when asked about his decision not to participate in the Oct. 7 “60 Minutes” election special.
“Well, right now, I went to – they came to me and would like me to do an interview, but first I want to get an apology, because the last time I did an interview with them, if you remember, they challenged me on the computer,” Trump said. “They said the ‘laptop from hell’ was from Russia, and I said it wasn’t from Russia. It was from Hunter, and I never got an apology, so I’m sort of waiting. I’d love to do ’60 Minutes.’ I do everything.”
The Republican nominee for president emphasized that he felt he was owed an apology from “60 Minutes.”
“Let’s see if they do it. I wouldn’t mind doing 60,” Trump continued. “I’ve done ’60 Minutes’ a lot.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said that Trump’s team had not agreed to an interview.
“Fake News,” Cheung said in a post on X. “60 Minutes begged for an interview, even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop back in 2020. There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in. They also insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented.”
Previous Trump, Harris appearances on 60 Minutes
Trump previously sat down with “60 Minutes'” Mike Wallace in 1985, Pelley in 2015 and Lesley Stahl twice in 2016, first in July of that year and then again in November of 2016. He also spoke with Stahl again in 2018 and 2020.
Harris previously sat down with Whitaker last year. She also was interviewed by Norah O’Donnell, “CBS Evening News” anchor and “60 Minutes” contributing correspondent, in 2020.
How to watch the “60 Minutes” election special
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.