James Webb Space Telescope spots gigantic old galaxies, puzzles astronomers – The Indian Express

As reported by Space.com, the six galaxies are as big as the Milky Way and comprise mature red stars that seem scattered across deep field images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope in its early observations. Considering the lack of any prior sighting or details regarding the galaxies, astronomers are having a tough time decoding the new findings.

“You just don’t expect the early universe to be able to organise itself that quickly. These galaxies should not have had time to form,” Erica Nelson, co-author of the new research and assistant professor of astrophysics at CU Boulder was quoted as saying by Colorado.edu.

The galaxies which have been described in a new study based on Webb’s initial data release, seem like minute red specks to the Webb telescope which is one of the most powerful telescopes. Based on the analysis of the light emitted by these galaxies, the researchers concluded that these were visible at the time of our universe’s early years- some 500 to 700 million years after the Big Bang.

While the sighting of the galaxies is not surprising by itself, so far astronomers believed that the first star clusters were formed shortly after the universe moved out of the dark ages that was characterised by the 400 million years of its being as a thick fog of hydrogen atoms filled space.

The set of galaxies spotted in the Webb images appear alarmingly big with stars that seem to be too old. According to various studies, young stars shine bright blue. They develop a reddish glow as they cool down after burning through their fuel – this happens as they age. Reportedly, the reddish dots spotted in Webb’s deep fields seem to be 50 times bigger.

The new sightings contradict the existing ideas of how the universe evolved in its initial years.