By Alimat Aliyeva

Indian astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a massive spiral galaxy with distinct arms, named A2744-GDSp-z4. This galaxy was formed when the universe was only 1.5 billion years old. The preprint of the study has been published on the arXiv portal, Azernews reports.

Spiral galaxies are characterized by their bright, well-defined arms radiating from the central core. These arms are formed as a result of matter condensation within the galaxy’s disk, and they play a crucial role in the active formation of stars. The appearance of such structures in the early universe is considered a rare phenomenon.

A2744-GDSp-z4 stands out not only for its spiral structure but also for its size and mass. Its disk spans about 32,000 light-years in diameter, and its stellar mass reaches 14 billion solar masses. The age of the stellar structures is estimated to be 228 million years, with a star formation rate of 57.6 solar masses per year. Researchers believe that star formation in this galaxy began approximately 839 million years after the Big Bang.

The discovery of such a large and complex galaxy in the early universe challenges existing theories. Traditional models suggest that galaxies form gradually over time, but A2744-GDSp-z4 contradicts this notion, as it appears to have developed a large disk and spiral arms in an unusually short period. Astronomers are planning further studies to understand the mechanisms that allowed this galaxy to form so quickly, and to explore the broader implications for our understanding of galaxy evolution in the early universe.