Astronomers have discovered a spiral galaxy, dubbed “Cosmic Grapes,” that appears clumpy and existed only 900 million years after the Big Bang. The galaxy is significantly larger than predicted by modern models and consists of at least 15 massive star-forming regions. The discovery was made possible by combining observations from ALMA and JWST telescopes, which focused on a single galaxy perfectly magnified by foreground clusters.
Contrary to previous images showing it as a flat disc-like object, the powerful resolution of these telescopes has revealed a radically different picture – swarming with huge clusters resembling grapes. This is the first time astronomers have linked small-scale internal structures and large-scale rotation in a typical galaxy at cosmic dawn.
The “Cosmic Grapes” galaxy is not rare or extreme but rather representative of the wider population, located on the main sequence of galaxies in terms of star formation activity, mass, size, and chemical composition. Its discovery raises key questions about how galaxies form and evolve, suggesting a need for revision to our understanding of feedback processes and structure formation in young galaxies.
Future observations will be crucial in identifying whether such clumpy structures were common in the early Universe, offering a unique window into the birth and evolution of galaxies.
Source: https://universemagazine.com/en/scientists-find-grape-cluster-in-space