A massive galaxy that formed its stars at z ~ 11. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38354832/)

These scientists used a special telescope called the James Webb Space Telescope to study a very big and old galaxy called ZF-UDS-7329. This galaxy is so massive that it has more than 10 billion times the mass of our Sun! The scientists found that this galaxy is very old and formed around 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang, which is a very long time ago.

What's really interesting is that this galaxy formed much earlier than other galaxies that we know about. This discovery is important because it challenges our current understanding of how galaxies form and grow in the universe. It also raises questions about the nature of dark matter, which is a mysterious substance that makes up a lot of the universe.

By studying galaxies like ZF-UDS-7329, scientists can learn more about how our universe was formed and how it has changed over billions of years. This research helps us understand more about the stars, galaxies, and dark matter that make up our universe.

Glazebrook K., Nanayakkara T., Schreiber C., Lagos C., Kawinwanichakij L., Jacobs C., Chittenden H., Brammer G., Kacprzak GG., Labbe I., Marchesini D., Marsan ZC., Oesch PA., Papovich C., Remus RS., Tran KH., Esdaile J., Chandro-Gomez A. A massive galaxy that formed its stars at z ~ 11. Nature. 2024 Feb 14. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07191-9.