There was a time when the universe was young enough that even light seemed newly born.
In that early era, not long after the Big Bang, matter drifted through expanding space like mist gathering into droplets. Astronomers once imagined those first droplets — the earliest galaxies — as small, tentative structures, slowly assembling themselves over billions of years. The grandest forms, the massive elliptical galaxies that now anchor clusters of stars, were thought to be late arrivals to the cosmic stage.
Yet recent observations suggest a more surprising beginning. Some of these enormous, rounded galaxies appear to have taken shape far earlier than expected, within the universe’s first billion years.
Images and data from the have offered an unprecedented glimpse into that distant epoch. Peering deep into infrared wavelengths, Webb allows astronomers to observe galaxies as they existed more than 12 billion years ago. Among the faint glows are objects that look unexpectedly mature — dense, massive, and structurally similar to elliptical galaxies seen in the modern universe.
Elliptical galaxies are typically characterized by their smooth, spheroidal shapes and populations of older stars. Unlike spiral galaxies, they lack prominent arms and often show little ongoing star formation. In nearby space, they are commonly understood to form through mergers — cosmic collisions in which smaller galaxies combine, their stars scattering into rounded distributions while bursts of star formation briefly ignite.
Under traditional models of hierarchical structure formation, such massive systems should take time to build. Small galaxies merge gradually, accumulating mass step by step. But the early appearance of elliptical-like galaxies suggests that this assembly may have occurred at an accelerated pace in the young universe.
One possible explanation lies in the conditions of that era. The early cosmos was denser, with gas clouds more tightly packed and gravitational interactions occurring more rapidly. In such an environment, galaxies may have experienced intense bursts of star formation — sometimes referred to as “starbursts” — that converted gas into stars with remarkable efficiency. If these processes unfolded swiftly enough, a galaxy could grow massive in a comparatively short cosmic interval.
Another hypothesis involves frequent and rapid mergers. In the crowded early universe, galaxies may have collided more often than models initially predicted. These mergers could have driven gas toward galactic centers, fueling both star formation and the growth of central supermassive black holes. Over time, repeated interactions might have smoothed stellar orbits into the rounded profiles associated with ellipticals.
Some of the early galaxies identified by Webb also appear unusually compact, containing vast numbers of stars within relatively small volumes. Their densities exceed those of similar galaxies observed today. This raises further questions about how such systems evolved — whether they expanded over time through minor mergers or underwent structural transformations.
Astronomers caution that interpretations remain under active study. Determining precise masses, ages, and morphologies at such extreme distances is complex. Observations must be carefully calibrated, and alternative explanations considered. As additional data accumulates, some early candidates may be reclassified, while others may deepen the mystery.
What emerges, however, is a portrait of a universe that matured quickly. Rather than unfolding at a uniform pace, cosmic history appears marked by episodes of rapid construction — moments when gravity, gas, and time converged to create unexpectedly grand structures.
The question is no longer simply how galaxies form, but how swiftly they can do so.
In the coming years, astronomers will continue refining models and gathering observations, seeking to understand whether these early ellipticals are rare exceptions or part of a broader pattern. For now, the discovery does not overturn established theory, but it invites adjustment — a recalibration of timelines rather than a rewriting of fundamentals.
The universe, it seems, was capable of architectural ambition from the very beginning.
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Sources Nature Science BBC News Reuters The New York Times