The James Webb Space Telescope has detected images believed to be of six colossal ancient galaxies. Their existence could disrupt current cosmological theories.
While sifting through images obtained from the James Webb Telescope, Dr. Erica Nelson from the University of Colorado Boulder and a co-author discovered a series of “faint dots” that are bright red. These red dots represent galaxies thought to be about 13.5 billion years old, appearing 500 to 700 million years after the Big Bang.
Images of six colossal ancient galaxies captured by the James Webb Telescope. (Photo: NASA/Reuters).
Calculations indicate that these galaxies contain tens to hundreds of billions of stars with masses similar to that of the Sun, making them comparable in size to the Milky Way, according to a new study published on February 22 in the journal Nature.
The newly discovered galaxies are so large that they contradict 99% of models representing early galaxies in the universe.
This could lead scientists to rethink how galaxies form and evolve. The current theory posits that early galaxies were small clouds of gas and dust that developed over time.
The James Webb Telescope observes the universe using infrared light that is invisible to the human eye. It also has the capability to detect faint light from ancient stars and galaxies. Essentially, James Webb can look back in time to about 13.5 billion years ago.
This new discovery is “reversing what many thought were established scientific theories.”
“We informally call these objects ‘cosmic wrecking balls’,” said Joel Leja, an assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University and a co-author of the study. “It throws the entire picture of early galaxy formation into doubt.”
The new findings are not the oldest galaxies ever observed by James Webb. Last year, scientists discovered four galaxies dating to about 350 million years after the Big Bang, but these galaxies are much smaller.
Dr. Emma Chapman, an astrophysicist at the University of Nottingham who was not involved in the latest research, stated that more observations of the new discoveries are needed before dismissing current models of the universe.
The research team plans to collect spectroscopic images—a method that can provide more accurate information about the age and allow for better mass estimates.
