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The JWST’s observations of the galaxy GN-z11 have revealed a clump of helium in the galactic halo that may contain the much-sought first generation of stars.Stars like the Sun contain metals only forged in the last stages of stellar life. These elements come from previous generations of stars that produced these heavier elements as their parting gift to the universe. The Sun is called a Population I star‚ while its immediate predecessors containing lower metal ratios are known as Population II. Some Population II stars can be seen by looking far back in time or finding low mass stars that age slowly.For a long time one of the priorities of astronomy has been to try to find Population III stars‚ those that have no predecessors and formed instead from pristine material left behind by the Big Bang. We’ve yet to do this‚ but may now be getting close.For seven years GN-z11 was the most distant galaxy known‚ having been found by the Hubble space telescope and its distance identified in 2015. The JWST took away that crown – but it has given a lot back to GN-z11’s status‚ revealing the earliest supermassive black hole ever found and nitrogen left behind by so-called “celestial monster” stars 5‚000-10‚000 times the mass of the Sun.Since the greater mass a star has‚ the shorter its lifespan‚ there’s only a short window to catch such an object while it is active. One step on the road is to identify places where pristine gas‚ from which Population III stars might form‚ can be found – and this is what the JWST may now have done.A team led by Professor Roberto Maiolino found a clump of helium in GN-z11’s halo using the JWST’s Near-infrared Spectrograph. “The fact that we don't see anything else beyond helium suggests that this clump must be fairly pristine‚” Maiolino said in a statement. “This is something that was expected by theory and simulations in the vicinity of particularly massive galaxies from these epochs — that there should be pockets of pristine gas surviving in the halo‚ and these may collapse and form Population III star clusters.”Indeed‚ Maiolino thinks Population III stars we have not seen directly may be what are lighting up this gas‚ something hinted by the width of the doubly ionized emission line in the spectrum.Although stars are far brighter than patches of gas lit up second hand‚ they’re also vastly smaller. We’re seeing GN-z11 as it was just 400 million years after the universe formed‚ and the immense distances involved make clusters of stars‚ let alone individual objects‚ exceptionally hard to resolve. Nevertheless‚ the JWST is scheduled to spend even longer on this crucial galaxy‚ building up higher-resolution images. Now they know where to look‚ Maiolino and colleagues hope to use those deeper observations to find stars newly emerged within pristine patches like the one they identified.If the team are right‚ we’re in for a treat‚ with hints the heaviest of the stars they are chasing have masses of at least 500 times that of the Sun. These may not match the “celestial monsters” whose nitrogen legacy was spotted‚ but they’d be more massive than any stars in our own galaxy‚ or anything nearby. Collectively‚ they expect this initial cluster to be releasing around 20 billion times as much light as the Sun.A report on the discovery has been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy &; Astrophysics‚ and can be seen on ArXiv.org.

An “environmental crisis” is looming in the Red Sea after a cargo ship carrying huge amounts of fertilizer was sunk off the coast of Yemen.Rubymar – a Belize-flagged‚ UK-owned cargo ship carrying approximately 21‚000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer – was sunk in the Red Sea by Houthi forces using an anti-ship ballistic missile on February 18‚ according to US Central Command.Along with the risk of excess fertilizer flooding the surrounding waters‚ environmental groups say there is further danger of leaking oil and chemical pollutants that could impact marine life.“Without immediate action‚ this situation could escalate into a major environmental crisis‚” Julien Jreissati‚ Programme Director at Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa‚ said in a statement. “As well as any further leaks of fuel oil from the engines‚ the sinking of the vessel could further breach the hull‚ allowing water to contact with the thousands of tonnes of fertilizer‚ which could then be released into the Red Sea and disrupt the balance of the marine ecosystems‚ triggering cascading effects throughout the food web‚” he explained.To make matters even more tricky‚ the sinking of the ship was related to the messy conflict in the region‚ which could hamper clean-up efforts.For context‚ the Houthis are an Iranian-backed movement that is currently fighting for control over Yemen against Saudi Arabia. Peace talks are ongoing and there are efforts towards a ceasefire in Yemen. However‚ in response to Israel's ongoing war in Gaza‚ Houthis have also started to attack ships in the Red Sea that are linked to Israel. This includes commercial vessels belonging to the US and UK‚ which are perceived to be powerful backers of Israel. Since the Red Sea acts as a gateway to the Suez Canal‚ a key trade route between Europe and Asia‚ it sees an abundance amount of maritime transit passing through it. Dozens of ships in the Red Sea have been attacked by Houthis since November 2023‚ but the sinking of Rubymar is considered one of the most significant strikes yet – not least because of the environmental risk it poses.All told‚ the conflict has been a humanitarian disaster for the region‚ causing a tragic amount of suffering and death. If a disruption to the ecosystem also strikes‚ environmental groups are warning that it’s only likely to deepen the humanitarian crisis.“This disruption could have far-reaching consequences‚ affecting various species that depend on these ecosystems and‚ in turn‚ potentially impacting the very livelihoods of coastal communities. Immediate access to the shipwreck site is imperative for an expert response team to assess the situation and swiftly devise and implement an emergency plan‚” added Jreissati.

The world is full of spectacular phenomena‚ from those caused by weather patterns‚ to the flora and fauna of the natural world. In the USA‚ the middle of February marks the start of firefall season at Yosemite National Park – and yes‚ it is just as spectacular as it sounds.Shreenivasan Manievannan captured incredible time-lapse footage of the firefall on Thursday‚ February 22. Perfect weather conditions allowed the sun to turn the water flowing over Horsetail Fall off the eastern edge of El Capitan into a stream of golden lava‚ as it cascaded over the 650-meter-high point (2‚130 feet). According to the Yosemite website‚ the original firefall was just that‚ as the owners of a nearby hotel pushed a real bonfire over the edge of Glacier Point within the park in 1872. The practice continued‚ with people coming in to watch the burning embers tumble down the cliff face.Long-exposure photograph of the firefall with real embers.Image credit: Scfry via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)In 1968‚ the practice was ended for safety reasons and concern for the forest by the director of the National Park Service‚ George Hartzog. Fortunately‚ a photographer called Galen Rowell spotted the first natural firefall in Yosemite in 1973‚ and captured a color photograph. While Horsetail Fall is perhaps considered less impressive than some of the more well known parts of the National Park‚ the stream is fed entirely by snowmelt‚ which means the firefall can only be witnessed during February‚ when the ice thaws but before the summer dries up the fall completely.