Cosmic History Rewritten With New Webb Telescope Discoveries

Astronomers have revealed that spiral galaxies appeared more frequently in the early universe than previously believed, based on new findings using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. This challenges earlier notions of galaxy formation timelines and suggests that galaxy development occurred faster than assumed.

Scientists at the University of Missouri are peering into the past and uncovering new clues about the early universe. Since light takes a long time to travel through space, they are now able to see how galaxies looked billions of years ago.

In a new study, the Mizzou researchers have discovered that spiral galaxies were more common in the early universe than previously thought.

“Scientists formerly believed most spiral galaxies developed around 6 to 7 billion years after the universe formed,” said Yicheng Guo, an associate professor in Mizzou’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and co-author on the study. “However, our study shows spiral galaxies were already prevalent as early as 2 billion years afterward. This means galaxy formation happened more rapidly than we previously thought.”