You Know The Big Bang. Now Enter The Big Wheel

2025-03-18 03:21:59

(MENAFN- Asia Times) Deep observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed an exceptionally large galaxy in the early universe. It's a cosmic giant whose light has traveled over 12 billion years to reach us. We've dubbed it the Big Wheel, with our findings published in Nature Astronomy .

This giant disk galaxy existed within the first two billion years after the Big Bang, meaning it formed when the universe was just 15% of its current age. It challenges what we know about how galaxies form.

Picture a galaxy like our own Milky Way : a flat, rotating structure made up of stars, gas and dust, often surrounded by an extensive halo of unseen dark matter .

Disk galaxies typically have clear spiral arms extending outward from a dense central region. Our Milky Way itself is a disk galaxy characterized by beautiful spiral arms that wrap around its center.

An artist impression of the Milky Way showcasing the dusty spiral structures similar to The Big Wheel.

Studying disk galaxies, like the Milky Way and the newly discovered Big Wheel, helps us uncover how galaxies form , grow and evolve across billions of years.

These studies are especially significant, as understanding galaxies similar to our own can provide deeper insights into the cosmic history of our galactic home.

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