An international team led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has discovered Zhlng, a massive spiral galaxy resembling the Milky Way, observed just 1 billion years after the Big Bang. Located at a redshift of 5.2, this galaxy features a central old bulge, a large star-forming disk, and well-defined spiral arms, characteristics typically seen in nearby galaxies but unexpected at such an early cosmic epoch. The discovery, made using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), challenges previous assumptions about the timeline of galaxy formation and highlights the rapid evolution of large spiral structures in the early universe. Named after the Torch Dragon from Chinese mythology, Zhlng’s features suggest it is one of the most compelling Milky Way analogues found to date at such an early time.
An international team led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has identified Zhlng, the most distant spiral galaxy candidate ever observed, resembling the Milky Way in structure and size. Discovered using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Zhlng exists at a redshift of 5.2, corresponding to just 1 billion years after the Big Bang. Despite its early formation, the galaxy exhibits a mature structure, including a central old bulge, a large star-forming disk, and well-defined spiral arms—features typically associated with nearby galaxies.
Zhlng’s disk spans over 60,000 light-years and hosts more than 100 billion solar masses of stars, highlighting its similarity to the Milky Way. This raises questions about the mechanisms that allow galaxies to achieve such organization in a relatively short cosmic timespan.
The discovery of Zhlng was facilitated by the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) PANORAMIC survey, a wide-area observational campaign designed to explore the early universe. JWST’s advanced infrared capabilities enabled detailed imaging of this distant galaxy, revealing its mature structure and composition.
Future Observations and Research Directions
Follow-up studies with instruments like the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) will provide additional insights into Zhlng’s properties and formation history. These observations aim to confirm the galaxy’s characteristics and explore the physical processes that allowed such a complex structure to assemble so early in cosmic time.
Zhlng’s existence challenges existing theories about galaxy evolution, suggesting that large spiral galaxies can achieve structural complexity much earlier than previously thought. This finding implies that the mechanisms driving galaxy formation may operate more efficiently in the early universe.
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