Alaknanda: A Mature Galaxy When the Universe Was Still Young

Recently, Indian astronomers analysing data from the James Webb Space Telescope identified a massive, well-structured spiral galaxy dating back to when the Universe was just 1.5 billion years old.

• The galaxy, named Alaknanda, appears strikingly similar to the Milky Way, despite forming when the cosmos was only 10% of its current age.

What makes this discovery unusual?

• Early galaxies were long thought to be small, chaotic and irregular, especially during the “cosmic dawn” after the Big Bang.
• Alaknanda instead shows two symmetrical spiral arms, a bright central bulge, and an organised disc, indicating advanced structure.
• It spans ~30,000 light-years and contains nearly 10 ....