An artist’s impression of the “Cosmic Grapes” galaxy, composed of at least 15 massive star-forming clumps—far more than current theoretical models predict could exist within a single rotating disk at this early time. (NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/B. Saxton via SWNS)
By Dean Murray
Space scientists have discovered “cosmic grapes” that could change the understanding of how galaxies are formed.
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope and Chile’s ALMA array have captured unprecedented detail of a galaxy just 930 million years after the Big Bang.
They discovered at least 15 dense “star-forming clumps” embedded within a rotating disk like a bunch of grapes.
The findings, published in Nature Astronomy, overturn earlier Hubble images that showed a smooth disk, instead revealing a rotating system rich in complex structure.
The galaxy appeared as a smooth, single disk-like object in previous Hubble Space Telescope observations like this one. (ALMA/Hubble via SWNS)
Researchers say the discovery challenges current models of galaxy formation and suggests many early galaxies may be similarly clumpy, hidden from view until now.
An ALMA statement said: “Because existing simulations fail to reproduce such a large number of clumps in rotating galaxies at early times, this discovery raises key questions about how galaxies form and evolve.
“It suggests that our understanding of feedback processes and structure formation in young galaxies may need significant revision.
“The Cosmic Grapes now offer a unique window into the birth and growth of galaxies, and may be just the first of many. Future observations will be key to revealing whether such clumpy structures were common in the universe’s youth.”