James Webb Telescope unveils another cosmic surprise! Challenges astrophysical assumptions with banana-like newborn galaxies

James Webb Telescope unveils another cosmic surprise! Challenges astrophysical assumptions with banana-like newborn galaxies

For quite some time, the prevailing assumption among astrophysicists and cosmologists was that newborn galaxies resembled the familiar orbs and spidery discs found in the present-day universe.

However, an examination of fresh imagery from the James Webb Space Telescope challenges this presumption. Contrary to expectations of egg-shaped or disc-like structures, these nascent galaxies take on unconventional forms – likened to bananas, pickles, cigars, or even surfboards, offering a diverse array of metaphors. This tentative conclusion stems from a comprehensive review of approximately 4,000 newly formed galaxies observed by Webb during the universe’s infancy.

Should this discovery withstand scrutiny, astronomers anticipate significant revisions to their comprehension of galaxy formation and evolution. Moreover, it could yield valuable insights into the enigmatic properties of dark matter, an elusive and imperceptible substance believed to constitute a substantial portion of the universe, outweighing atomic matter by a ratio of 5 to 1. Dark matter envelops galaxies and furnishes the gravitational environments conducive to the birth of new galaxies.

This breakthrough builds upon earlier indications from Hubble telescope observations, suggesting that ancient galaxies exhibited pickle-like shapes, as highlighted by Joel Primack, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a co-author of the recent paper.

Commenting on the significance of this revelation, Alan Dressler from the Carnegie Observatories, though not involved in Pandya’s work, underscored its potential importance. However, he maintained a level of skepticism owing to the challenges inherent in measuring distant, diminutive, and faint galaxies.

Pandya’s team meticulously analyzed galaxy images within a region of sky known as the Extended Groth Strip, smaller than a full moon, previously surveyed by various telescopes including Hubble, as part of the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey, an international collaboration.