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Corey S Powell
@coreyspowell@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Spiral galaxies like our own are rare in the early universe, because they require quiet, stable conditions.

But the discovery of "Alaknanda," a tidy spiral from 12.3 billion years ago, shows that there were pockets of calm even in the era of cosmic chaos.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251203004729.htm #science #nature #philosophy

ScienceDaily

JWST finds a Milky Way twin born shockingly early in the Universe

A surprisingly mature spiral galaxy named Alaknanda has been spotted just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang—far earlier than astronomers believed such well-structured galaxies could form. With sweeping spiral arms, rapid star formation, and an orderly disk resembling our Milky Way, it defies long-held theories about how slowly galaxies should assemble. Thanks to JWST and gravitational lensing, researchers could examine the galaxy in remarkable detail, revealing that the early Universe was far more capable and dynamic than expected.
Image of the newly discovered spiral galaxy Alaknanda (inset) as observed in the shorter wavelength JWST bands. Several bright galaxies from the foreground Abell 2744 cluster are also seen. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA, I. Labbe/R. Bezanson/Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Rashi Jain/Yogesh Wadadekar (NCRA-TIFR)
Image of the newly discovered spiral galaxy Alaknanda (inset) as observed in the shorter wavelength JWST bands. Several bright galaxies from the foreground Abell 2744 cluster are also seen. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA, I. Labbe/R. Bezanson/Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Rashi Jain/Yogesh Wadadekar (NCRA-TIFR)
Image of the newly discovered spiral galaxy Alaknanda (inset) as observed in the shorter wavelength JWST bands. Several bright galaxies from the foreground Abell 2744 cluster are also seen. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA, I. Labbe/R. Bezanson/Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Rashi Jain/Yogesh Wadadekar (NCRA-TIFR)
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