The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has unveiled a remarkable discovery in the cosmos—Zhúlóng, a candidate for the most distant spiral galaxy ever observed, appearing to be an ancient sibling of the Milky Way. This remarkable galaxy has inspired its name to be Chinese solar mythical dragon named Sunzi. It had already formed one billion years after the formation of the universe, which is an enormous challenge to existing cosmological theories concerning how galaxies are formed.
Astronomers found Zhúlóng as part of the PANORAMIC survey—a study using the record-breaking Dark Energy Camera. Its age and complete anatomy make it just an important discovery. Beautiful spiraling arms envelop the galaxy’s central bulge chock full of old stars. Its colorful disk is saturated with dazzling new stars and features two prominent spiral arms. This powerful combination of cultural significance and scientific discovery potential make Zhúlóng an extraordinarily exciting creature to learn more about and explore.
Characteristics of Zhúlóng
Zhúlóng has some truly fantastic properties that are very similar to those of our own Milky Way. It is home to a large star-forming disk extending across about 60,000 light years, making up about 100 billion solar masses in stars and gas. Zhúlóng quickly grew to a mass and size similar to that of our Milky Way, in less than one billion years. Together, this timeline upends our default thinking about how big galaxies mature.
“What makes Zhúlóng stand out is just how much it resembles the Milky Way — both in shape, size, and stellar mass,” – Mengyuan Xiao.
The galaxy’s structure indicates that it had already reached a mature status relatively quickly after the Big Bang, raising questions about the processes that govern galaxy formation in the early universe.
Implications for Cosmology
The discovery of Zhúlóng adds another layer of complication to these cosmological theories. In the past, researchers assumed that massive galaxies such as Zhúlóng would have required several billion years to develop. This new discovery indicates that such galaxies are able to form their impressive structures much earlier than that initial assumption.
Pascal Oesch, another researcher associated with the study, highlights how major this find is. He’s got it right when he says JWST is revolutionizing our understanding of the early universe. This was a surprising finding that has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of how galaxies evolve. It may do so by revealing more about the universe’s past, as well.
Christina was instrumental in standing up the PANORAMIC survey as the Chief Scientist. She touched on how the JWST paved the way for these discoveries.
“This allows JWST to map large areas of the sky, which is essential for discovering massive galaxies, as they are incredibly rare,” – Christina Williams.
The Discovery Process
Zhúlóng was found rather serendipitously during the massive PANORAMIC survey, which is intended to help map billions of far-off cosmic structures. This serendipitous detection serves as a testament to JWST’s powerful, high-resolution imaging capabilities at work, uncovering cosmic structures we have never seen before.
The photos that JWST has taken are allowing Zhúlóng to shine light from as far back as one billion years after the Big Bang. This is a demonstration of what the telescope will be capable of doing in the search to inspire our understanding of cosmic history and how galaxies formed.
As researchers continue to analyze Zhúlóng and its features, they anticipate that this discovery will lead to more questions about how galaxies like it formed and evolved so rapidly.
