The earliest galaxies observed by the James Webb Space Telescope are challenging astronomers' understanding of how the universe evolved. New research suggests that the massive stars inside these galaxies may hold important clues.
Grace Telford, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Utah, joins Cool Science Radio to discuss TEMPOS, a Hubble Space Telescope survey of 29 massive stars in nearby, extremely metal-poor galaxies. The study found that the stars have unexpectedly weak winds, especially at the lowest levels of metallicity, offering new insight into how stars lose mass and evolve.
Telford explains how the findings could change models of massive stars and help scientists understand their influence on the galaxies around them. The conversation also explores how astronomers use nearby galaxies to study conditions in the early universe and how combining Hubble observations with data from other powerful telescopes could reveal even more about the origins of galaxies.
