Observing distant parts of the universe and analyzing objects that are as visible to us now as they were when the universe was only two billion years old, astronomers use the James Webb Space Telescope. They saw a galaxyIt doesn’t fit there at all. We are talking about the Searz-2112 galaxy. This very distant object looks like the modern Milky Way through the lens of James Webb. It is primarily a spiral galaxy, its central bulge shaped like a bar, just like the one currently found in our own galaxy. Such a bar is a region that actively attracts huge amounts of gas and dust to the center of the galaxy, which in turn triggers intense star formation processes.
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But the problem with this discovery is that all models of the evolution of the universe so far have shown that reaching this stage of galactic evolution will take much longer. In theory, two billion years after the Big Bang, no galaxy should look like this. These models have been supported by previous observations made with the legendary Hubble Space Telescope. Several analyzes of Hubble data have indicated that there are simply no clearly visible barred spiral galaxies in the distant universe.
Therefore, the detection of CEERS-2112 by the Hubble Space Telescope at a distance of 11.7 billion light-years from Earth represents a big problem. No matter how you look at it, the light now falling into JWST’s mirror was emitted when it was only 15 percent cosmic. His current age. It is assumed so far that the first objects of this type and this structure appeared only when the age of the universe was 4 billion years, that is, 30 percent. His current age.
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On the one hand, it’s just one galaxy. On the other hand, if there is one, we will certainly find others soon, because this proves that there are processes that allow such galaxies to form much faster than we thought. It is worth noting an important fact here: the actual process of galaxy evolution is difficult to pinpoint precisely, because we still know almost nothing about the behavior of dark matter, which makes up the majority of the mass of most galaxies.
It is true that everything indicates that Sears-2112 is dominated by ordinary matter and has relatively little dark matter, but this does not change the fact that we are trying to study objects that have large gaps in knowledge about their composition. Fortunately, the James Webb Space Telescope’s mission has only just begun. Therefore, we can expect scientists to discover more of these galaxies in the coming years. A larger sample may reveal some distinctive features that could explain the sudden appearance of galaxies in the early universe. Who knows, maybe knowledge about galaxies spotted at the edges of the universe will tell us something more about our cosmic home.
Echo Richards embodies a personality that is a delightful contradiction: a humble musicaholic who never brags about her expansive knowledge of both classic and contemporary tunes. Infuriatingly modest, one would never know from a mere conversation how deeply entrenched she is in the world of music. This passion seamlessly translates into her problem-solving skills, with Echo often drawing inspiration from melodies and rhythms. A voracious reader, she dives deep into literature, using stories to influence her own hardcore writing. Her spirited advocacy for alcohol isn’t about mere indulgence, but about celebrating life’s poignant moments.
