News Excerpt:

Astronomers have discovered the oldest known "dead" galaxy in recent observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

• This galaxy appears to challenge current models of the early universe.

Key features of the newly discovered dead galaxy:

• The newly discovered galaxy, named JADES-GS-z7-01-QU, stopped forming stars more than 13 billion years ago when the universe was only 700 million years old. 
• However, astronomers are puzzled by the galaxy's sudden halt in star formation because, at that time, the dust and gas necessary to form stars was abundant in the universe. 
• The first few hundred million years of the universe was a very active phase, with lots of gas clouds collapsing to form new stars. 
• Galaxies need a rich supply of gas to form new stars, and the early universe was like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

• Dead galaxies — those that no longer form stars — have been observed in the early universe before, but JADES-GS-z7-01-QU is the oldest such galaxy yet recorded at only 700 million years after the Big Bang that formed the universe 13.8 billion years ago.
• It is also much smaller than other dormant galaxies previously observed in the early universe.