Assistant Professor Dr. Lamiya Ashraf Mowla of Wellesley College, USA, captivated an audience at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) during the 2nd Colloquium organized by the Center for Astronomy, Space Science, and Astrophysics (CASSA) on December 19, 2024. 

Her talk centered on groundbreaking research published in Nature on December 11, revealing the discovery of a 13.2-billion-year-old galaxy through images and spectra captured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

This research marks a significant milestone for IUB as it is the first scientific paper authored by a CASSA-affiliated member, bringing added recognition to the institution.

Nearly 100 participants, including university students and even a high schooler, gathered to hear insights from Dr. Mowla, who is an associate member of IUB’s CASSA. Addressing an undergraduate-heavy audience, she began with a simplified explanation of humanity’s place in the universe, using the Cosmic Calendar to condense 13.7 billion years of cosmic history into a single year.

Dr. Mowla highlighted how studying galaxies through light with its constant speed offers a glimpse into the past. She emphasized the importance of high-resolution telescopes like JWST in observing distant galaxies to uncover their formation processes. Using the Milky Way as an example, she detailed its anatomy and explained how such galaxies might have evolved from smaller star clusters merging over time.

In her talk, she revisited her 2022 discovery of the galaxy “Sparkler,” 9 billion light-years away. Observed through JWST and gravitational lensing, the Sparkler revealed "sparkles" nearby—globular clusters of stars, some forming just 700 million years after the Big Bang. Dr. Mowla’s findings, featured by BBC and CNN, suggest these clusters are among the oldest known.

Building on this, she discussed the “Firefly Sparkle,” discovered as part of the Canadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey (CANUCS), as featured in Reuters and BBC among others. Found at just 600 million years post-Big Bang, Firefly Sparkle was magnified through gravitational lensing, alongside two companion galaxies named “Firefly Best Friend” and “Firefly New Best Friend.” The playful naming, inspired by Lamiya’s team, reflects the joy scientists derive from their work.

Through Webb’s advanced instruments, Dr. Mowla analyzed the galaxies’ spectra, identifying chemical elements and calculating redshift values, indicating the galaxies’ distances. Firefly’s low metallicity confirmed its youth, while its ionizing source was found to be 40,000 Kelvin, significantly hotter than the Sun’s surface.

Her team’s analysis of the Initial Mass Function (IMF) also offered new perspectives, suggesting steeper slopes than established models. The findings caught the attention of renowned scientist Pavel Kroupa, who commented on their results.

CASSA, established at IUB in 2024, is dedicated to research and education in astronomy, space science, and astrophysics. The center has hosted a series of academic events and programs, including the “Durbin” (Citizens of the Universe) initiative, aimed at engaging students and the general public in exploring cosmic phenomena.

BDST: 1141 HRS, DEC 28, 2024
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