A team of astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has found tiny dust particles traveling far from their home galaxy, surviving a perilous journey through a harsh cosmic environment that should have destroyed them.

The JWST findings offer new insight into how galaxies “breathe,” grow and recycle the raw materials that fuel future generations of stars. The dust originates from the distant galaxy Makani that recently underwent intense bursts of star formation — one 7 million years ago and another 0.4 billion years ago.