Astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery of a rare galaxy, nicknamed “Cosmic Grapes,” that formed just 930 million years after the Big Bang. The galaxy has at least 15 massive star-forming clumps arranged tightly together, resembling a cluster of grapes in space.
Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), researchers found the galaxy through gravitational lensing, which allowed them to study its internal structure with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution.
The discovery sheds new light on early galaxy growth, revealing that many seemingly smooth galaxies may actually be filled with hidden massive star-forming clumps. The findings suggest a connection between a galaxy’s small internal structures and its overall rotation, hinting at a more complex universe than previously thought.
This rare glimpse into the early universe provides a unique opportunity to study a galaxy that has never been seen before. The research was published in Nature Astronomy on August 7.
Source: https://www.space.com/astronomy/james-webb-space-telescope/astronomers-find-bizarre-cosmic-grapes-galaxy-in-the-early-universe-heres-why-thats-a-big-deal-photo