The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed a surprising phenomenon: most galaxies in the universe rotate in a clockwise direction. According to a recent study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, approximately two-thirds of 263 galaxies studied exhibit this property.
Astronomers have long believed that galaxies should be evenly split between rotating in one direction or the other due to the assumption of an “isotropic” universe, where the universe looks roughly the same in every direction. However, the new findings suggest that this may not be the case.
Two possible explanations for the discrepancy have been proposed. Firstly, it’s possible that the universe came into existence while rotating, which could be supported by the theory of black hole cosmology. According to this hypothesis, our universe exists within a black hole and galaxies inherit their rotation from this axis.
Alternatively, the Milky Way’s rotation may be the cause. An effect known as the Doppler shift causes galaxies that rotate opposite to the Milky Way’s motion to appear brighter in telescopic surveys, potentially explaining why they’re overrepresented in observations.
The implications of these findings are significant and warrant further research. It remains to be seen whether black hole cosmology or incorrect measurements of the universe’s expansion will be confirmed as the explanation for this cosmic phenomenon.
Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/james-webb-space-telescope-reveals-that-most-galaxies-rotate-clockwise-180986224