Astronomers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have detected a mysterious infrared signal in a region of space that appears empty, leaving scientists puzzled about its origin. The unusual signal was detected twice, approximately 88 days apart, despite the absence of an identifiable object at the location in earlier observations.
The discovery was made during observations of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, a region of the sky in the southern constellation of Fornax that contains thousands of distant galaxies. Researchers used JWST's Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) to examine light from this extensively studied area and search for previously unidentified cosmic objects.
What did the team find?
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The team identified a bright near-infrared emission line at a wavelength of approximately 1.6 micrometres. The signal appeared across multiple exposures and observing angles, making a simple instrumental error a less likely explanation.
However, the biggest puzzle is the absence of a visible source. Earlier high-resolution images show no obvious galaxy or other object at the precise location from which the signal originated.
The signal was reportedly detected in August and November 2023, but it was absent from earlier observations conducted during the James Webb Space Telescope's JADES survey in October 2022. Its apparent disappearance and subsequent reappearance have raised questions about whether the source changes in brightness over time.
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What could be causing the mysterious signal?
Scientists have proposed several possible explanations, including an extremely faint or dust-obscured galaxy, a supernova explosion or a tidal disruption event, in which a black hole tears apart a nearby star. However, none of these theories has been confirmed.
Another challenge is that researchers have identified only a single emission line rather than a complete spectrum. Without additional spectral features, scientists cannot reliably determine the signal's redshift or calculate its distance from Earth.
The findings, reported in The Astrophysical Journal, highlight the challenges of interpreting unusual signals detected by advanced astronomical instruments.
Researchers say deeper spectroscopic observations will be necessary to identify additional emission lines and establish the source's nature. Further observations could help determine whether the signal originates from a distant galaxy, a temporary cosmic event or an as-yet-unidentified astrophysical phenomenon.
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For now, the mysterious signal remains unexplained, offering astronomers another puzzle to investigate as the James Webb Space Telescope continues to reveal unexpected features of the universe.
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