Scientists discover massive galaxy in young universe

A massive rotating disk galaxy that was well-formed when the universe was 10% of its current age was discovered by the National Science Foundation.

The galaxy was found using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and research appears in the journal Nature, according to a press release from the National Science Foundation.

The Wolfe Disk, named after late astronomer Arthur Wolfe, or Galaxy DLA0817g, is the most distant rotating disk galaxy ever observed. Because of ALMA's power, it was observed spinning at 170 miles per second, similar to our Miky Way Galaxy. 

The Wolfe Disk presence challenges traditional galaxy formation simulations, the National Science Foundation reported. These simulations predict that massive galaxies are formed by the combination of smaller galaxies and hot clumps of gas. 

Most galaxies start to show a well-formed disk around six billion years after the Big Bang. Astronomers finding a disk galaxy when the universe was at 10% of its current age shows there had to have been other galaxy forming processes, according to the press release from the National Science Foundation.

Karl G. Jansky, with the National Science Foundation, used Very Large Array and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to learn more about star formation in the Wolfe Disk.