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COSMOS Field MoM-z14 Galaxy (NIRCam Image)

A wide field of view showing deep space, dotted with many small galaxies and a few foreground stars that display six diffraction spikes. One galaxy is highlighted with a magnified image in a graphic pull-out box in the lower right corner. The galaxy is labeled MoM-z14 and appears as a blurry yellow blob with a small red area at its top.

The galaxy designated MoM-z14 is currently the farthest galaxy ever detected, spotted by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and confirmed spectroscopically with its NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) instrument.

Through Webb, we are seeing this galaxy as it appeared in the distant past, only 280 million years after the universe began in the big bang. Its light has traveled through space for more than 13 billion years to reach us.

Like some other galaxies Webb has discovered in the early universe, MoM-z14 is brighter, more compact, and more chemically enriched than astronomers expected to find in this early era. While it may pass out of record books quickly as the farthest galaxy, MoM-z14 will still play a role in helping astronomers and theorists reach new understanding of the earliest chapters in the universe’s story.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    10:00:22.45
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    +02:16:23.70
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Sextans
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is about 16 arcmin across

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    This image was created with data from the DAWN JWST Archive; Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    NIRCam
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F090W, F115W, F150W, F200W, F250M, F277W, F335M, F356W, F410M, F444W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    MoM-z14 in the COSMOS Legacy Field
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    High redshift galaxy
  • Release Date
    January 28, 2026
  • Science Release
    NASA Webb Pushes Boundaries of Observable Universe Closer to Big Bang
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Rohan Naidu (MIT); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Display), 24568 × 10240
    jpg (57.1 MB)
  • Full Res (For Print), 24568 × 10240
    tif (321.27 MB)
  • 2000 × 834
    jpg (512.5 KB)
  • Unannotated - Full Res (For Display), 24568 × 10240
    jpg (60 MB)
  • Unannotated - Full Res (For Print), 24568 × 10240
    tif (333.74 MB)
  • Unannotated, 2000 × 834
    jpg (540.08 KB)
A wide field of view showing deep space, dotted with many small galaxies and a few foreground stars that display six diffraction spikes. One galaxy is highlighted with a magnified image in a graphic pull-out box in the lower right corner. The galaxy is labeled MoM-z14 and appears as a blurry yellow blob with a small red area at its top.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample specific wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are:   Blue: F090W, Cyan: F115W, Blue-Green: F150W, Green: F200W, Yellow: F250M, Yellow-Orange: F277W, Orange: F335M, Orange-Red: F356W, Red: F410M, Red: F444W

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

Related Images & Videos

James Webb Space Telescope image of many small galaxies, with a graphic pull-out box highlighting one galaxy, a fuzzy yellow blob labeled MoM-z14. Image includes compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference.

COSMOS Field MoM-z14 Galaxy (NIRCam Compass Image)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows galaxy MoM-z14 as it appeared in the distant past, only 280 million years after the universe began in the big bang.

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Details

Last Updated
Jan 28, 2026
Location
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

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