Webb Telescope Detects Surprisingly mature Spiral Galaxy, Rewriting Early Universe Timeline
WASHINGTON – Astronomers using โขthe James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have discovered a fully formed spiral galaxy, dubbed Alaknanda, dating back โขto a period just aโฃ fewโฃ hundred million years after the Big Bang.The finding challenges currentโค understanding of how galaxies evolve,as โฃAlaknanda boasts a mature structure and contains an estimatedโค ten billion solar โmasses ofโ stars formed โwith remarkable speed.
The unexpectedly rapid developmentโฃ of Alaknanda-a galaxy that,โ in cosmic terms, assembled itself in a fraction of the time predicted by existing models-forces a reevaluation of the conditions present in the early universe. Its existence suggests that the building blocks for complex galactic โstructures, and potentially habitable worlds, โmay have emerged far earlier than โคpreviously thought.โฃ This discovery โimpacts cosmological research, potentially altering timelines for the formation of the first stars and galaxies and influencing theories โขabout the distribution of dark matter.
Alaknanda’s spiral arms, a defining characteristic of mature galaxies like our own Milky Way, present a โparticular puzzle. Researchers propose two leading possibilities for their formation: a stable growth fueled by consistent โคstreams of cold โคgas,โฃ allowing density waves to sculpt the arms, or a disruptive gravitational encounter with a smaller galaxy that triggered the structure.
Future โขobservations utilizing JWST’s spectroscopic instruments, alongside data from the ALMA radio telescope, are planned to analyze Alaknanda’s rotational speed and internal order. Determining โคwhether theโ galaxy’s dynamics are “cold” or “hot”โข will provide crucial insights into its origins. The research, published this week, underscores JWST’s capacity to unveil previously unseen details of the universe’s infancy and reshape our understanding of cosmic history.
