Astronomers have possibly discovered six “monster” galaxies dating back to inside 600 million years of the Big Bang.
The James Webb Space Telescope has identified several older galaxies, some inside just 300 million years of the birth of the universe. Galaxies as massive and mature as these suggest that they were on cosmic fast-track from the get-go, stunning scientists.
“While most galaxies on this era are still small and only progressively growing larger over time, there are just a few monsters that fast-track to maturity. Why that is the case or how this is able to work is unknown,” lead researcher Ivo Labbe of Australia’s Swinburne University of Technology told The Associated Press in an email.
The six objects each weigh billions of times greater than our own sun. In a single, the whole weight of all its stars could also be as much as 100 billion times greater than our sun, in response to researchers, who published their findings within the journal Nature on Wednesday.
In line with Labbe, these galaxies are unique in that they look like extremely dense — compacting as many stars because the milky way in a comparatively small space.
Labbe initially didn’t imagine that the outcomes were real — that there couldn’t be mature galaxies just like the Milky Way so early in time. They still have to be confirmed, he said.
The objects appeared so big and shiny that some members of the team thought that they had made a mistake.
“We were mind-blown, form of incredulous,” Labbe said.
Pennsylvania State University’s Joel Leja, who took part within the study, described the brand new bodies as “universe breakers.”
“The revelation that massive galaxy formation began extremely early within the history of the universe upends what a lot of us had thought was settled science,” Leja said in a press release. “It seems we found something so unexpected it actually creates problems for science. It calls the entire picture of early galaxy formation into query.”
Leja said it’s possible that a few of the objects may not be galaxies, but obscured supermassive black holes.
While some may prove to be smaller, “odds are good at the very least a few of them will transform” galactic giants, Labbe said. “The following yr will tell us.”
One early lesson from Webb is “to let go of your expectations and be able to be surprised,” he said.
Data concerning the galaxies were among the many first transmitted from the $10 billion space telescope, launched last yr to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope, which is approaching the thirty third anniversary of its launch.
The much stronger Webb can see through clouds of dust with its infrared vision, revealing galaxies previously hidden.
Scientists hope to eventually observe the primary stars and galaxies formed following the creation of the universe 13.8 billion years ago.
Astronomers have possibly discovered six “monster” galaxies dating back to inside 600 million years of the Big Bang.
The James Webb Space Telescope has identified several older galaxies, some inside just 300 million years of the birth of the universe. Galaxies as massive and mature as these suggest that they were on cosmic fast-track from the get-go, stunning scientists.
“While most galaxies on this era are still small and only progressively growing larger over time, there are just a few monsters that fast-track to maturity. Why that is the case or how this is able to work is unknown,” lead researcher Ivo Labbe of Australia’s Swinburne University of Technology told The Associated Press in an email.
The six objects each weigh billions of times greater than our own sun. In a single, the whole weight of all its stars could also be as much as 100 billion times greater than our sun, in response to researchers, who published their findings within the journal Nature on Wednesday.
In line with Labbe, these galaxies are unique in that they look like extremely dense — compacting as many stars because the milky way in a comparatively small space.
Labbe initially didn’t imagine that the outcomes were real — that there couldn’t be mature galaxies just like the Milky Way so early in time. They still have to be confirmed, he said.
The objects appeared so big and shiny that some members of the team thought that they had made a mistake.
“We were mind-blown, form of incredulous,” Labbe said.
Pennsylvania State University’s Joel Leja, who took part within the study, described the brand new bodies as “universe breakers.”
“The revelation that massive galaxy formation began extremely early within the history of the universe upends what a lot of us had thought was settled science,” Leja said in a press release. “It seems we found something so unexpected it actually creates problems for science. It calls the entire picture of early galaxy formation into query.”
Leja said it’s possible that a few of the objects may not be galaxies, but obscured supermassive black holes.
While some may prove to be smaller, “odds are good at the very least a few of them will transform” galactic giants, Labbe said. “The following yr will tell us.”
One early lesson from Webb is “to let go of your expectations and be able to be surprised,” he said.
Data concerning the galaxies were among the many first transmitted from the $10 billion space telescope, launched last yr to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope, which is approaching the thirty third anniversary of its launch.
The much stronger Webb can see through clouds of dust with its infrared vision, revealing galaxies previously hidden.
Scientists hope to eventually observe the primary stars and galaxies formed following the creation of the universe 13.8 billion years ago.
