Astronomers confirm earliest Milky Way-like galaxy in the universe, just 2 billion years after the Big Bang

Astronomers confirm earliest Milky Way-like galaxy in the universe, just 2 billion years after the Big Bang

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(Image credit: Ivanov, D. et al.(2026))

Researchers continue to press the borders of astronomy and cosmology, thanks to next-generation instruments that can see further and clearer than ever in the past.

Through these efforts, astronomers have actually observed a few of the earliest galaxies in the

Universe. In turn, this has actually caused improved theories and timelines of galactic development and advancement.

According to the Hubble Sequence, galaxies are organized into elliptical, spiral, and lenticular based upon their morphological qualities. Whereas galaxies normally start as irregular disks, they progress to form spiral arms extending from a main bulge (aka. a spiral nebula).

Disallowed spirals, such as the Milky Way, likewise have a bar-shaped direct plan of stars throughout their centers, which play a crucial function in their advancement by funneling gas inward from the external reaches, feeding the supermassive great void in the center, and reducing star development throughout the outstanding disk.

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Hubble picture of the Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1300. (Image credit: NASA/ESA/The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)/ P. Knezek (WIYN))While scientists have actually reported disallowed spiral nebula that are even older, analyses of these prospects have actually been less definitive, as the observations were used gravitational lensing or redshift measurements. Whereas the previous approach is obstructed by the lensing impact, which typically blurs the light from the more remote item, redshift measurements undergo mistakes and unpredictabilities of 10-15%. Neither approach is as conclusive as spectroscopy, which was utilized to verify the age of COSMOS-74706.

The discovery of a disallowed spiral nebula this early in deep space was not completely unexpected, as some simulations recommend that bars were forming in galaxies as far back as 12.5 billion years. Observational proof of such structures has actually been much harder to come by, making this a considerable discovery that assists constrain the timeline of stellar advancement. As Ivanov mentioned in a UPitt news release:

This galaxy was establishing bars 2 billion years after the birth of deep space. 2 billion years after the Big Bang. It’s the greatest redshift, spectroscopically verified, unlensed disallowed spiral nebula. In concept, I believe that this is not a date in which you anticipate to discover much of these things. It assists to constrain the timescales of bar development. And it’s simply truly intriguing.

The initial variation of this post was released on Universe Today

Matt Williams is a science communicator, reporter, author, and teacher with over 20 years of experience in education and outreach. His posts have actually appeared in Universe Today, Interesting Engineering, HeroX, Phys.org, Business Insider, Popular Mechanics, and other noteworthy publications. He is the host of Stories from Space, a weekly podcast about the past, present, and future of spaceflight, and a sci-fi author with numerous released titles.

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