Scientists studying one of the earliest known galaxies using the James Webb Space Telescope have found that the universe's Era of Reionization may have occurred much earlier than previously thought.

Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope have identified an ancient and faraway galaxy that provides evidence that an important transition period that brought the early universe out of its "dark ages" occurred sooner than previously thought.

Firefly Sparkle,” a galaxy that existed about 600 million years after the big bang, has been imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope. The "galaxy is gleaming with star clusters," according to NASA. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Music Credit: "Explore in Hope" by Timothy James Cornick [PRS] and Matthew Jacob Loveridge [PRS] via BBC Production Music [PRS],