Fresh observations by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory reveal a massive galaxy cluster forming far sooner after the Big Bang than scientists once thought possible.
New data show a developing galaxy cluster emerging just one billion years after the Big Bang, far earlier than models predict. Researchers identified at least 66 potential galaxies in the system, with a mass of about 20 trillion suns.
Astrophysicist Akos Bogdan of the Harvard and Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics said the structure appeared unexpectedly mature.
“These galaxies are embedded in a halo of hot gas heated to millions of degrees, and the whole system is bound together by dark matter,” he noted. Bogdan described the timing as “a genuine surprise”.
Such early development challenges long-held expectations. The universe was not thought to be dense enough for a cluster of this scale to form at that stage, and until now, the earliest comparable object dated to roughly three billion years after the Big Bang.
Co-author Gerrit Schellenberger said the result reinforces a broader shift prompted by Webb’s early-universe discoveries.
“Our findings provide further evidence for a more rapid growth of cosmic structure than is predicted by current cosmological models,” he said, adding that unexpectedly bright young galaxies and early supermassive black holes point in the same direction.
Webb detected the galaxies inside the protocluster, while Chandra confirmed the X-ray glow of superheated gas marking a cluster in formation.
Schellenberger said “the combination of Chandra and Webb observations provides a uniquely powerful window into the early universe”.
The discovery suggests the young cosmos may have organised itself far faster than standard models allow, prompting scientists to revisit how early large-scale structures took shape.
The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be lengthened by three weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post on social media website...
Meta Platforms will cut about 10% of its global workforce from 20 May, marking the start of a wider restructuring as the company increases spe...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stori...
A United States Army soldier has been charged with making more than $400,000 by betting on the removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, ...
President Donald Trump has warned that the U.S. could impose "big" tariffs on British goods if the UK does not remove i...
New modelling suggests Mars shapes some of Earth’s long-term orbital rhythms, including shorter eccentricity cycles and a 2.4-million-year pattern that vanishes without its gravitational pull.
Chinese scientists say they are moving closer to building one of the world’s most powerful neutrino telescopes, an underwater array known as the Tropical Deep sea Neutrino Telescope, or TRIDENT, that will sit around 3,500 metres below the surface.
A small, silent object from another star is cutting through the Solar System. It’s real, not a film, and one scientist thinks it might be sending a message.
The International Astronautical Congress in Sydney brought together over 7,000 delegates from 99 countries, focusing on sustainable space activity, inclusive leadership, and the growing role of emerging nations in the global space ecosystem.
The U.S. military has intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters and is redirecting them away from their positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security sources said on Wednesday, exclusively to Reuters.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards targeted three vessels, seizing two of them for alleged maritime violations and transferring them to Iranian shores, as U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington is extending its ceasefire with Iran until Tehran submits a proposal.
Two local trains collided head-on north of Copenhagen on Thursday (23 April), injuring 17 people, five of them critically, according to emergency services.
The U.S. military is redirecting at least three Iranian-flagged tankers after intercepting them in Asian waters near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security sources said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Tehran said U.S. breaches, blockades and threats are undermining “genuine negotiations.”
The European Union is preparing its 20th round of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine. The measures are close to being approved, after earlier delays linked to energy concerns in Slovakia and Hungary eased following repairs to the Druzhba oil pipeline.
China’s software and information technology services industry is on track to exceed 20 trillion yuan (around $2.9 trillion), underscoring the country’s rapid digital expansion and growing influence in the global technology sector.
Taiwan’s rising prominence in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain has powered a significant stock market rally, driven by soaring demand for advanced chips and servers.
The U.S. aviation regulator has ordered billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s space company Blue Origin to ground its New Glenn rocket pending an investigation into a malfunction that prevented the proper deployment of a communications satellite during a launch from Florida on Sunday (19 April).
FindinFinding a job is becoming increasingly difficult for many young people in China, with some now turning to unusual methods, including dating apps, to improve their chances of employment.
Blue Origin, the U.S. space company of billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully reused and recovered a booster for its New Glenn rocket launched from Florida on Sunday (19 April), in the latest chapter of its intensifying rivalry with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment