The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) discovered a distant galaxy, JADES-GS-z13-1-LA, that emits a type of light called the Lyman-α emission line. This light is usually blocked by the intergalactic medium (the space between galaxies) and has never been seen from a galaxy this early in the universe’s history, just 326 million years after the Big Bang

This discovery is puzzling because it challenges our understanding of how light travels through space and how early galaxies formed. Scientists are now trying to figure out why this galaxy’s light isn’t blocked like others.

We’re essentially seeing hydrogen in a galaxy that is technically too young to have it.