Scientists have discovered a huge spiral galaxy with an ordered structure in the early universe, but cannot explain how it grew so big so quickly. Using the Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered a spiral galaxy with an ordered structure about 32,000 light years in diameter. It existed 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang. But galaxies in the early universe are lumpier and lack an ordered structure. So this discovery has stumped astronomers. The study was published on the preprint server arXiv, Live Science writes. Astronomers have discovered an unexpectedly large, well-ordered spiral galaxy in the early universe, 32,000 light years across, called A2744-GDSp-z4. That it existed as early as 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang could change what astronomers know about galaxy formation, and spiral galaxies in particular. Generally, the older a galaxy is, the farther it is from Earth. Astronomers can estimate the age of a galaxy and how far away it is by using redshift. When light travels across large areas of space, it shifts toward the red end of the electromagnetic spectrum. Using the Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered a spiral galaxy with an ordered structure, the galaxy A2744-GDSp-z4, with a diameter of about 32,000 light years. It existed already 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang. As the universe expands, older stars appear further away. The red part of the spectrum shows the longest wavelength of light, so stars that are very far away tend to appear redder because they have a red shift. The Webb Space Telescope can see the most distant stars and galaxies in space, which are the oldest. But astronomers have mostly found spiral galaxies closer to us, meaning they are generally younger than the recently discovered galaxy A2744-GDSp-z4. Well-ordered spiral galaxies like this one have two distinct spiral arms. Astronomers have previously found very few galaxies with redshifts higher than 3.0, meaning the light from these galaxies has taken about 11.5 billion years to reach us. But the galaxy A2744-GDSp-z4 has a redshift of 4.03, meaning that its light has been traveling to us for more than 12 billion years. According to scientists, calculations show that this galaxy formed about 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang, or 12.3 billion years ago. At the same time, scientists say that the galaxy grew too quickly to such a huge size, although it is still 3 times smaller than the Milky Way. But for galaxies in the early Universe, this is a very large size. A study of the rate at which new stars are formed in the galaxy A2744-GDSp-z4 has shown that it has gained a mass equivalent to 10 billion solar masses in just a few hundred million years, which contradicts the model for the formation of spiral galaxies. Scientists say spiral galaxies in the early universe were mostly lumpy and turbulent. But a spiral galaxy with an orderly structure has been discovered. Astronomers believe that the galaxy’s rapid growth and ordered structure may be due to the presence of a stellar bar. This is a gaseous structure found in most galaxies that fuels the birth of stars and acts as a conduit for the movement of gas between the galaxy’s interior and exterior. This movement of gas helps the galaxy grow and shape itself. The ancient spiral galaxy may have formed from the merger of two smaller galaxies, although this seems less likely given its orderly structure, astronomers say. The post Astronomers Have Discovered a Galaxy They Can’t Explain appeared first on Anomalien.com.