ExploreAstro at Caltech/IPAC

"How do [heavy elements] form in less than 1 billion years? It was a surprise to see such chemically mature galaxies," says Andreas Faisst, a staff scientist at IPAC. "It's like seeing 2-year-old children act like teenagers."

Astronomers have captured the most detailed look yet at faraway galaxies at the peak of their youth, an active time when the adolescent galaxies were hastily producing new stars.

IPAC scientist Andreas Faisst presented these results at the 247th meeting of the American Astronomical Society on January 6, 2026, in Phoenix, AZ. Faisst led the observations as part of the ALPINE-CRISTAL-JWST Survey. The survey program consists of an international team of more than 50 scientists across more than 15 institutions.

The results focus on 18 galaxies located 12.5 billion light-years away, and show that the galaxies are maturing faster in several ways than researchers previously believed. For one, the galaxies are more chemically enriched than expected, which means they have produced more heavy elements, in particular carbon and oxygen, than was thought possible during this early age of the cosmos.

The cartoon shows the evolution of metal production in galaxies. Credit: Caltech/Andreas Faisst

Read more: https://www.ipac.caltech.edu/news/young-galaxies-grow-up-fast