# Chiba University team finds dust-hidden ordinary galaxy and over 40 single stars in JWST data

- Published: 2026-11-09 01:32 UTC
- Section: Sky & Space › Astronomy
- Tags: James Webb Space Telescope, dust galaxy, early universe galaxies, individual stars in distant galaxy, gravitational lens, microlensing, Yoshinobu Fudamoto, Chiba University, galaxy evolution
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-12b0d96cba7539d9b07a395b_chiba_university_team/

**Researchers at Chiba University report two first-of-kind JWST observations: a dust-obscured ordinary galaxy in the early universe and over 40 individual stars in one distant galaxy.**

![Chiba University team finds dust-hidden ordinary galaxy and over 40 single stars in JWST data](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/e718621f6c376762.jpg)
*NASA/JPL-Caltech and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), Wikimedia Commons, Public domain*

In an interview published on cn.chiba-u.jp, Yoshinobu Fudamoto, project assistant professor at the Advanced Science Center of Chiba University, described two observational results obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). According to him, both are world firsts: the discovery of a dust galaxy in the early universe and the detection of more than 40 individual stars in one distant galaxy [1]. In 2025 he received the Chiba University Advanced Academic Prize and the Young Scientists' Award of Japan's Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology [1].

## Dust galaxy of an ordinary type

Dust galaxies are covered so thickly by cosmic dust that their light cannot get out, so ordinary telescopes cannot detect them [1]. Until now it was assumed that only special galaxies with explosive star formation hide behind dust. The galaxy found by Fudamoto's group is an ordinary one [1].

According to the researcher, if ordinary galaxies are hidden by dust, they should be numerous, which means a considerable number of galaxies has been missed. He says the overall picture of how galaxies formed and grew in the early universe may have to be redrawn [1]. The galaxy was found next to the originally targeted one, because the observation plan provided for examining unexpected signals in the data [1].

## Individual stars in a distant galaxy

Using JWST data, the team detected more than 40 individual stars in a single galaxy. The authors state that this is the first time a statistically analyzable number of individual stars has been found in one galaxy [1]. Normally such stars are buried in the light of their host galaxy. They were found at moments of brightening when gravitational lensing and microlensing effects overlapped, by comparing observations taken at different times [1].

Previously, at most one to a few individual stars could be found in one galaxy [1]. These stars were noticed while the researchers examined data on the same sky region that two teams had collected for other purposes [1].

## Instrument and next steps

JWST was launched in 2021. NASA developed it over more than 25 years, and its observed light and mirror design differ from those of Hubble [1]. Fudamoto notes that both lines of work will require large volumes of observational data, analysis and further technical progress [1]. He is now preparing a JWST observation program to follow the same galaxy and study the stars in it one by one [1].

## Sources

1. [cn.chiba-u.jp](https://www.cn.chiba-u.jp/next_261109)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-12b0d96cba7539d9b07a395b_chiba_university_team/