Webb Telescope Reveals Unexpected Milky Way-Like Galaxies
upstart writes:
Webb Telescope Reveals Unexpected Milky Way-Like Galaxies:
Spiral galaxies are common throughout the universe (our Milky Way is one), and many of them are so-called barred galaxies. At least today they are. These structures appear to develop as spiral galaxies "mature," drawing gas from the periphery in toward the center, where it fuels star formation at a vastly accelerated rate. Looking back in time, astronomers have spotted fewer bars in spiral galaxies, and that led to wide speculation that they had not formed in the early eons of existence.
Now, we have not one but two examples of barred spiral galaxies in the early universe. Webb focused on a galaxy known as EGS-23205, which appears as it did 11 billion years ago. Hubble images of EGS-23205 just show a round blob, but Webb's massive mirror resolves the details of a barred spiral. Above, you can see Hubble's view of EGS-23205 on the left and Webb's on the right. The team went on to spot EGS-24268, another ancient barred spiral about the same age as EGS-23205. The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, includes four more barred spirals, though all of those are a few billion years younger.
[...] The discovery that barred spirals were common between 8 and 11 billion years ago challenges current models of galactic evolution. The team plans to test different models in future studies, but the implications for the early universe are notable. For example, ancient galaxies may have been much more active in star formation than expected due to the presence of bars. These structures can also channel matter into the supermassive black holes lurking in the center of large galaxies, increasing their mass at a greater rate than previously known.
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