The galaxy is seen as it was when the universe was just 700 million years old.
New Delhi:
Astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope to discover a highly ordered, distant galaxy named REBELS-25. This galaxy shows striking similarities to the Milky Way, even though it is much younger.
REBELS-25 shows a rotation-dominated structure, contrary to expectations that earlier systems would appear blocky and chaotic. “Our understanding of galaxy formation predicts that most early systems appear small and messy,” said Jacqueline Hodge, an astronomer at Leiden University, according to CNN. This discovery therefore calls into question our current understanding of the formation of the universe.
Astrophysicist Dave Clements from Imperial College London said the galaxy’s disk-like structure was unexpected at such an early stage in the universe’s development. “The universe is thought to have been more chaotic then,” Clements explains. He questioned whether REBELS-25 was an outlier or indicative of a flaw in the theory of galaxy formation.
The galaxy is seen as it was when the universe was just 700 million years old. This relatively short timeline of REBELS-25’s formation contradicts the traditional view that galaxies evolve slowly over billions of years. “Seeing a galaxy so similar to our Milky Way…calls into question our understanding of how galaxies in the early universe evolve so rapidly,” said Leiden, lead author of the study. said Lucy Rowland, a doctoral student at the university.
Andrew Brain, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Leicester, said the discovery was “a bit unusual” and, while not revolutionary, was noteworthy. He explained how ALMA played a key role in discovering these galaxies that would otherwise be too small to detect. “ALMA also reveals finer details than previous telescopes,” Blaine said.
The study has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, and further observations are planned to confirm the presence of spiral arms and other advanced structures.
