Astronomers have identified a galaxy from the early universe that shares the familiar spiral and barred structure of the Milky Way yet is more than ten times as massive. Named J0107a, this galaxy was observed as it appeared 11.1 billion years ago, offering a rare glimpse into a time when the universe was just a fifth of its current age.
Utilizing cutting-edge data from the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, researchers found that J0107a contains an extraordinary amount of gas and stars. It also boasts a star formation rate nearly 300 times higher than that of the Milky Way.
“This galaxy is a monster,” said lead author Shuo Huang of Japan’s National Astronomical Observatory. “It has a high star formation rate and plenty of gas, much more than present-day galaxies.”
What makes J0107a even more remarkable is its structure. While chaotic, irregular shapes dominated the early universe’s galaxies, J0107a features a well-organized barred spiral shape. Its central bar spans about 50,000 light-years, serving as a stellar nursery where gas funnels inward to form molecular clouds eventually giving birth to new stars.
Galaxies with such organized shapes were thought to be rare in the early universe, leading scientists to question how J0107a developed so rapidly. “The Milky Way had billions of years to build its structure. J0107a didn’t,” noted co-author Toshiki Saito of Shizuoka University.
Interestingly, galaxies with similar star formation rates in today’s universe typically arise from galactic mergers. Yet, J0107a shows no signs of such a collision, deepening the mystery of its formation.
The discovery challenges current models of galaxy evolution and suggests that barred spiral galaxies may have emerged far earlier than previously believed. “Theories about the formation of present-day galactic structures may need to be revised,” Huang added.
As the James Webb Telescope continues to peer into the early cosmos, J0107a stands as one of the earliest known examples of a barred spiral galaxy, potentially reshaping our understanding of the universe’s formative years.
