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Jacqueline Antwi-Danso …NSERC Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at the David A. Dunlap Department for Astronomy & Astrophysics
In the 1990s, astronomers discovered two distant, massive galaxies that had completely stopped, or quenched their star formation. The discovery marked a complete shift in everything astronomers thought they knew about how galaxies formed.
Massive galaxies like the Milky Way took several billion years to form. But those newly discovered galaxies did so in just a fraction of that time.
“The discovery meant that these galaxies were older than the age of the universe, which is physically impossible,” says Jacqueline Antwi-Danso, the NSERC Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at the David A. Dunlap Department for Astronomy & Astrophysics.
“When we look at the formation histories of these distant quenched galaxies, the observations suggest that they formed too quickly and too early compared to what we see in cosmological simulations.”
Antwi-Danso is tackling one of astronomy’s biggest challenges in her search to find the earliest distant quenched galaxies in the universe. She is particularly interested in how these galaxies formed and when they stopped forming stars.
Astronomers have discovered several more distant, quenched galaxies at increasingly earlier periods in the universe’s history. These galaxies are more massive than the Milky Way and yet formed within a billion years of the Big Bang (which happened nearly 14 billion years ago). In other words, they formed their stars extremely rapidly, unlike any galaxy observed in the present-day.
So, what does this all mean for astronomers? The extreme star formation processes implied by these observations of distant quenched galaxies are uncomfortably close to the limits permitted by galaxy formation physics. Therefore, trying to understand these objects in more detail is a high priority research area for astronomers.
Massive galaxies like the Milky Way have up to a trillion stars and are characterised by luminous, spiral-like arms of active star formation. Meanwhile, distant, quenched galaxies are composed of old stars and look like relics: small orange-red blobs. This is because their light has been “stretched out” to infrared wavelengths due to the expansion of the universe, which also makes them fainter and harder to spot.
At U of T, Antwi-Danso is building on significant findings from a study she participated in as a PhD student at Texas A&M University. Using the 8-metre telescope at the Gemini South Observatory based in Chile, the FENIKS collaboration surveyed large areas of the sky to increase the chances of finding these rare massive galaxies. They designed and installed two new imaging filters on the telescope to push the boundary of what was possible with ground-based infrared telescopes. The survey led to two critical discoveries.
The first was the identification of two new distant quenched galaxies. The discovery confirmed existing knowledge about the formation histories of distant galaxies, “namely, that these galaxies form too early and too quickly based on what theory predicts,” Antwi-Danso explains.
The study also highlighted that astronomers can reliably use ground-based telescopes to observe distant quenched galaxies as far back as 12.5 billion years into history of the universe. To detect them at earlier times than this, space-based data is required.
Additionally, astronomers are rethinking long-standing models of galaxy formation as they observe distant quenched galaxies with supermassive black holes at their centers emitting energetic radiation.
This is important, Antwi-Danso says, because the differing models for light emission from stars and supermassive black holes can affect estimates of the physical properties of these distant galaxies.
As more questions arise, there is an increasing need to ensure the accuracy of the physical properties of distant quenched galaxies derived from modeling their observations. Fortunately, there have been significant technological advancements to address this need.
Harnessing the power of space-based technology
The next stages of Antwi-Danso’s research involve further exploration of those two distant galaxies she discovered from Chile. To do so, she’s leveraging the power of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Distant galaxies are hard to detect because their emitted light is shifted to infrared wavelengths, where the earth’s atmosphere blocks most of the light. The sky in the infrared is about 10,000 times brighter than the typical distant massive galaxy. This makes it extremely difficult to detect the most distant quenched galaxies using ground-based telescopes.
The JWST – which launched in December 2021 – is about 100 times more sensitive than the largest ground-based infrared telescopes and can observe galaxies in a fraction of the time of its predecessors.
In fact, it has doubled the number of spectroscopic observations of the most distant, quenched galaxies within only two years of operation. Before its launch, astronomers had spectra of only 35 of these galaxies observed within the first two billion years of the universe’s history.
To further observe those two galaxies, Antwi-Danso will use data from the JWST to examine their spectra – the light emitted by these galaxies over a range of wavelengths – which can reveal information like chemical composition. Insights will help provide a more accurate understanding of their formation histories to compare with updated cosmology simulations, and, hopefully, offer new answers about possible tensions between theory and observations.
Additionally, Antwi-Danso is part of the Canadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey (CANUCS), a multi-institutional collaboration that uses gravitational lensing — a phenomenon where a massive object acts as a cosmic magnifying glass — to study the building blocks of the earliest galaxies.
Within that collaboration, Antwi-Danso is also a researcher on the Technicolor Survey, which employs multiple filters on the JWST’s Near-Infrared Camera to observe quenched galaxies at wavelengths that are inaccessible from the ground.
“We want to find galaxies that contain the first generations of stars, and then model their observations with galaxy formation models to infer their physical properties and star formation histories,” Antwi-Danso says.
With the technological advantages provided by the JWST to push the boundaries of distant galaxy observations, Antwi-Danso’s research will provide valuable insight into understanding how early galaxies came to be.
“We’re really excited to see where the results lead and to compare those observations with current theoretical predictions for these distant massive galaxies.”
He once sold kenkey to pay his school fees, and now wears the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police. DCOP Kofi Sarpong, police officer and award winning gospel musician is charting a journey few could script.
In an interview with The Spectator chronicling his rise, the newly promoted DCOP took us on his journey through the ranks.
Early Life
“I was born in Berekum in the Bono Region, then Brong Ahafo, to Comfort Yeboah, affectionately called Maame Yaa, and the late Chief Inspector Kofi Sarpong,” he said.
His family story is one of resilience. His mother had two children before her husband died in an accident. She later married Kofi Sarpong’s father, a police officer, and had two more, himself and his junior brother. “So we are four, unfortunately one is deceased, just last year, so we are three now.”
School and struggle
He started at Berekum Methodist Primary under the old ‘Sito’ system. In Form Two, he moved to Obuasi to stay with a guardian for his Form Three education, then returned to Berekum for Form Four. He later attended Berekum Senior High School where he studied General Arts and shone as an athlete, a sprinter in the 100m, 200m and 4x400m relay.
After O-Levels, his batch was the last to write the exams, his dream was to become a teacher because of his love for children. But financial hardship forced a detour.
“I decided to help myself by going to buy maize and started preparing kenkey to sell at lorry parks and markets in Berekum,” he recalled.
According to him, the people from Berekum know this story. “I can make all types of kenkey, Fante Kenkey, Ga Komi and others. Don’t be surprised to see Kofi Sarpong Kenkey one day.” The proceeds paid his upkeep.
For this reason, he advised the youth “Don’t see life as a smooth journey but find something prudent to do to help yourself in difficult times.”
After grinding his education to a halt due to financial challenges, he now holds a Degree in Public Administration from GIMPA, a Master’s in International Relations and Diplomacy and Project Management, plus other higher certificates, with more in the offing.
The Police Call
When teaching did not materialise immediately, he moved to stay with his father at Osu, Accra. In 1994, he visited former IGP Nana Owusu-Nsia at Police Headquarters, who told about ongoing police enlistment.
In his head he declined, but outwardly he accepted to try reluctantly. Later, watching TV news and seeing long queues of young people aspiring to join the Police, he was inspired to reconsider.
He went to Berekum for his certificate. Accra enlistment had closed, so he joined the Kumasi exercise. He was selected, passed the exams and went to the Koforidua Police Training School, Galloway. After passing out, he was posted to the Logistics Unit at Police Headquarters.
At Headquarters, a senior officer encouraged young constables to further their education. He took a course in Purchasing and Supply via distance learning from a UK institution. 
Upon completion, the Police administration promoted him from Constable Class One to Chief Inspector, a leap that paved the way for him to enrol at the Police Academy. He graduated as ASP, and the climb to DCOP began.
“The officer corps starts from Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) from the cadet,” he explained. “When you graduate from the Police Academy, you are awarded ASP, and you move to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), that’s when I released album to start my music career professionally.”
From there, he rose to Superintendent of Police (SP), Chief Superintendent, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), and now Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP). Next is Commissioner of Police (COP).
Music found him in Sudan
On peacekeeping duty in Sudan, officers from different nations came together to hold fellowship led by a Nigerian officer. In December that year, with top-ranked officers present, Kofi Sarpong led the service to the admiration of all.
On his return to Ghana, a Colonel, who was a Matron at 37 Military Hospital and a member of the 37 Methodist-Presbyterian Church invited him to their harvest service. He ministered, and as he stepped out of church, a man approached him with an offer to record him. He declined.
Days later, at the office, the man, Ernest Kwesi, who owned Media Excel Production sent an elderly man to pursue him. He still declined. This compelled Ernest Kwesi himself to visit him at the office. “He told me he had seen something in me.”
Just after Ernest Kwesi left,Kofi Sarpong wrote to then Director General/Welfare, Mohammed Alhassan, and Paul Tawiah Quaye the Inspector General of Police (IGP) at the time. “He opened the letter and said he had been waiting all this while because he had seen me perform at police officers’ events.”
He was summoned to the IGP’s office, a call which scared him, however, it was a good news; his request was approved. Against this backdrop, he informed Ernest Kwesi who quickly visited that evening with highlife musician Akwaboah Jnr., who taught him his first song, ‘Me ko nso hw3 mu’, and they went to the studio.
A song earlier recorded in reggae by Zapp Mallet was totally transformed by Nacee, so they released both versions on the album. Nacee, he says, hugely supported promotion, as did Mark Okraku-Mantey.
He also acknowledge Oware Jnr. who also wrote songs for him.
After his maiden album’s success, police leadership congratulated him. He says he is happy to have inspired other officers to write to the Service to pursue other interests.
An autobiography, he reveals, is in the offing.
Family and food
He is married to Mrs Salomey Sarpong with three children, two boys and a girl: Nana Nketiah, Maame Afia Yeboah Sarpong and Papa Kwabena Aseda Sarpong.
His hobbies are watching athletics and being with family. His favourite foods are fufu and konkonte with groundnut soup.
On music, he teased a collaboration with a top Nigerian artiste, promising fans “hot praises” soon.
He concluded by thanking Ghanaians for their support since his promotion, and thanked the Inspector General of Police for his guidance.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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WHEN some of her pupils failed to show up at school, Mary Adotei did not always assume they were absent. Sometimes, she went looking for them.
In the communities where she taught, getting a child into the classroom could require more than preparing lessons. Mrs Adotei remembers occasions when she had to visit the homes of pupils, bathe them, prepare them and bring them to school herself.
“There were times I had to go to the homes of some of the children, bathe them and bring them to school,” she recalled.
It is a memory that captures much of her journey over the years as a teacher, a profession she entered without knowing it would become central to her identity.
Now, after years of working with children and communities, Mrs Adotei is taking lessons from the classroom into a new arena.
She is contesting the position of Women’s Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa (AOB) Constituency in the Central Region, hoping to use her experience working with people to contribute to the welfare of women in the constituency.
But her story begins in the classroom.
After completing her basic and secondary education, Mrs Adotei spent 12 years working as a pupil teacher before she had the opportunity to receive professional training.
In 2006, she entered Fosu College of Education and completed her training in 2011 with a Diploma in Basic Education.
She returned to the classroom and has remained there since, teaching in different communities before moving to her current school, Catholic Boys Basic School in Breman Asikuma, in 2019.
The years have given her a front-row seat to the transformation education can bring.
Some of the children she once taught have grown into professionals, carrying the lessons they learnt in her classroom into hospitals, schools, offices and other workplaces.
Mrs Adotei said she had encountered former pupils who were now doctors, nurses, teachers and even a lawyer.
For a teacher, she said, such moments bring a special kind of satisfaction and reinforce the reason she remains passionate about education.
Her journey, however, has not been without difficult moments.
Teaching in local communities sometimes meant dealing with circumstances that went beyond academic work. Some pupils needed encouragement, personal attention and practical help before they could even settle down to learn.
Those experiences taught her that the challenges confronting people cannot always be solved from a distance. That understanding has followed her into her political activities.
Mrs Adotei has been involved in the NDC for years and previously served as a branch treasurer. She has also supported women in her branch, including assisting some to access medical treatment and providing help to families when the need arose.
She is now making her third attempt at becoming the constituency’s Women’s Organiser.
Her motivation is linked to what she has seen around her.
Mrs Adotei wants women in the constituency to have access to skills and opportunities that can help them become more economically independent.
She believes her years as a teacher have prepared her for the work, too, because the profession has taught her to listen, communicate, understand different circumstances and work patiently with people.
For her, the transition from teacher to political organiser is therefore not a complete departure from the path she has followed.
The classroom taught her to work with individuals. Politics, she hopes, will give her the opportunity to work with a wider group of women.
If elected, Mrs Adotei intends to continue teaching while taking up her political responsibilities. She said she would organise her time to attend meetings and constituency activities without abandoning her duties to her pupils.
Away from school and politics, she is a wife and mother of two sons who are pursuing their degrees at university.
Her message to young girls is shaped by everything she has seen education do for the children she has taught.
For Mrs Adotei, education remains one of the strongest tools available to young people, especially girls seeking to build better futures.
She wants them to stay in school, pursue further education and acquire skills that will prepare them for the future.
“Nowadays, you cannot go forward without education,” she said.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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