GOODS field containing distant dwarf galaxies forming stars at an incredible rate (annotated)

This image shows the area containing a sample of dwarf galaxies studied to unlock secrets of star formation in the early Universe.

Highlighted are faint dwarf galaxies that reside in the early Universe, between two and six billion years after the Big Bang, an important time period when most of the stars in the Universe were formed. Some of these galaxies are undergoing starbursts and have been studied by astronomers to deduce their contribution to star formation in this crucial era of the Universe’s history.

The image is part of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS), and this image shows only one section that the survey covered.