The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered three enormous galaxies that are rewriting the laws of galactic evolution. Dubbed “red monsters” due to their distinctive red glow, these gigantic galaxies are 100 billion times the mass of our sun and nearly as massive as the Milky Way.
Formed just over a billion years after the Big Bang, these galaxies challenge existing models of how stars and galaxies form. The researchers believe that the stars within these galaxies coalesced at an alarming rate, defying current understanding of galaxy evolution.
The conventional view is that galaxies form within gigantic halos of dark matter, which compresses ordinary matter into stars. However, the red monsters seem to have evaded most of these hurdles, with up to 80% of their gas converted into bright young stars. This discovery indicates that galaxies in the early universe could form stars with unexpected efficiency.
The James Webb Space Telescope’s infrared capabilities enabled it to spot these massive galaxies, which are more than 12.8 billion years old. The researchers plan to make further observations using both the JWST and Chile’s ALMA telescope to gain a deeper understanding of these mysterious galaxies.
This discovery throws a curveball at astrophysicists working on models of early galaxy evolution, who may need to consider unique processes that enabled giant galaxies to grow with such efficient star formation. As Dr. Stijn Wuyts, co-author of the study, said: “Finding three such massive beasts among the sample poses a tantalising puzzle… these Red Monsters appear to have swiftly evaded most of the hurdles.”
The discovery marks a new era in exploring the early universe and has scientists eager to learn more about the conditions that shaped the cosmos.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/space/james-webb-space-telescope-discovers-mysterious-red-monster-galaxies-so-large-they-shouldnt-exist