Discovery with Webb Telescope: A Twin of the Milky Way in the Young Universe

Recent observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed a remarkable finding: a spiral galaxy, structurally similar to our own Milky Way, existing just one billion years after the Big Bang. This discovery challenges previously held beliefs about the formation and evolution of large galaxies, suggesting that such complex structures may have formed much earlier in cosmic history than previously thought.

Traditionally, astronomers believed that the development of spiral galaxies took several billion years. The JWST has previously located numerous galaxies formed between 300 to 500 million years following the universe's inception, but these were generally small and irregularly shaped. The prevailing theory posits that these dwarf galaxies gradually merge over time to create larger galaxies, including massive spiral structures like the Milky Way.

The newly identified galaxy, named Zhulong after a dragon from Chinese mythology, spans approximately 60,000 light-years and contains over 100 billion stars, comparable in scale and composition to our own galaxy. Similar to the Milky Way, Zhulong features a central bulge of older stars surrounded by a flat disk with spiral arms where new stars are actively forming.

Researchers are intrigued by how such a well-structured spiral galaxy could have emerged at such an early stage in the universe's development. This discovery arose from the Panoramic Survey conducted by the JWST, which involves scanning random regions of the sky alongside other observations to uncover previously unknown celestial objects in the young cosmos. Christina Williams, the lead scientist of the Panoramic Program, emphasized the significance of this approach in identifying rare astronomical phenomena.

The existence of Zhulong poses significant questions for existing theories regarding galaxy formation and evolution. The team hopes to identify additional developed galaxies in the early universe through ongoing observations. Furthermore, they plan to conduct more detailed studies of Zhulong using both the JWST and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, aiming to unravel the formation history of this intriguing galaxy.