Stories
NASA James Webb Space Telescope Baffled by Mysterious Unidentified Deep Space Signal
M
Moneycontrol•15-10-2026, 10:42
NASA James Webb Space Telescope Baffled by Mysterious Unidentified Deep Space Signal
- •NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope detected an unidentified bright emission line at 1.6 micrometres on two separate occasions in August and November 2023.
- •Despite using powerful telescopes like Hubble and JWST, scientists have found no identifiable object or additional emission lines to help determine the source.
- •The mysterious signal originated from the Hubble Ultra Deep Field in the constellation Fornax, but its exact distance from Earth remains unknown.
- •Researchers have considered various possibilities including a distant galaxy, nearby galaxy, supernova, or a black hole destroying a star, but none are confirmed.
- •Because the signal appeared in observations 88 days apart, instrumental error is less likely, leaving scientists searching for more sensitive observations to solve the mystery.
Key Questions Answered
The unidentified signal is a bright emission line detected at a wavelength of approximately 1.6 micrometres. It appeared twice in August and November 2023, though researchers found only one such line and could not locate additional lines to determine its origin.
The signal was detected in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, which is a small region of the sky located within the constellation Fornax.
Astronomers have considered several possibilities for the unidentified emission-line source, including a distant galaxy, a relatively nearby galaxy, a supernova, or a black hole tearing apart a star, though none have been confirmed.
