Even after more than 13.7 billion years, the universe is still full of surprises. Three massive galaxies in the Early Universe were discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), according to a recent NASA announcement. They have been nicknamed “red monsters” by astronomers because of their redshift, which makes them appear to be about 100 billion suns in mass.
Although it was seen after the Big Bang, that is comparable in size to our own Milky Way. Because it puts doubt on the speed at which large systems can expand, the discovery is significant. And scientists might have to reconsider the timeline they use to explain the young universe if galaxies this massive were already present at such an early time.
How JWST found the “red monsters”
The Hubble Space Telescope transformed astronomy allowing deep views of very far distances in space. Then came the the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and along with tools like this one the discovery of “red monsters” are possible today.
“Redshift” refers to the stretching and shining of light from extremely distant objects as the universe expands. And by determining this Redshift, JWST traces the galaxies on a timeline and determines how long that light has been traveling.
This is how the three “red monsters” land between half a billion and a billion years after the Big Bang.
They are notable for their age, of course, but also for their size and behavior. It looks like a star-forming galaxy, dusty, active, and very busy producing stars at a much faster rate than was usual in those early days.
Why this puts pressure on our models
The basis for understanding gravity has been for over a century: Albert Einstein‘s General Relativity. But the ΛCDM (Lambda Cold Dark Matter) cosmological model is now the accepted big-picture framework.
Let’s explain this, ΛCDM states that galaxies, especially the largest ones, grow over long periods of time, normal matter falls into those wells, and dark matter creates a sort of cosmic scaffold. And although they focus on the specifics, the “red monsters” do not go against this narrative.
If galaxies with about 100 billion suns were already present so soon after the Big Bang, then either matter accumulated into galaxies more quickly than what we believed before or star formation in the earliest systems was much more efficient than we typically assume.
These three dusty, active sources also suggest fast production of heavy elements, which is crucial for later planets and life.
Not all scientists agree regarding the precise function of these early giants; some believe that star-forming galaxies contributed to the seeding of life’s components, and others think that supernovae were primarily responsible. No matter who’s right, the new evidence indicates that the Early Universe was dynamic rather than sluggish.
How this changes our view
TheJames Webb Space Telescope keeps surprising us and letting NASA test ideas with sharper evidence
If the JWST discovers a large number of additional “red monsters,” then researchers will modify the ΛCDM cosmological model to accommodate earlier and faster growth in specific regions of the Early Universe. And if they turn out to be rare, they will reveal the practical limits on the speed at which galaxies can form, and how quickly heavy elements and dust can form.
The story doesn’t replace Albert Einstein or General Relativity. We can continue to refine our map of the early Universe by integrating general relativity with the ΛCDM cosmological model and images from the JWST. Whether common or rare, these “red monsters” are already serving a purpose, they are making scientists reevaluate theories, modifying timelines, and gaining insights into a universe far larger than we ever imagined.