BEASTS is a JWST Cycle 1 GO Program that will use the NIRSpec Intregral Field Unit (IFU) to study the most luminous galaxies at z~9, only 500 million years after the Big Bang.

Using the spatially-resolved power of IFU spectroscopy, BEASTS will reveal the physical processes responsibe for the extreme UV luminosities of these galaxies, including their star-formation rates, stellar masses, and dust extinction. These insights will be invaluable for refining models of galaxy formation, and for understanding the existence of ultra-massive galaxies at later epochs in the history of the cosmos.

BEASTS is a highly international team led by John R. Weaver (PI; UMass), Sune Toft (DAWN), Bahram Mobasher (UC Riverside) and Claudia Scarlata (Minnesota). This research is supported by NASA.