‘Impossible early galaxies’ suggest universe may be billions of years older than previously thought

Research offers fresh explanation for advanced level of development seen in ancient galaxies

The universe could be twice as old as current estimates, according to a new study that sheds light on “impossible early galaxies” spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope that appear to be in an advanced state of evolution.

Many scientists have previously expressed bewilderment over these early galaxies that came to existence a mere 300-400 million years or so after the Big Bang, but appear to have a level of maturity and mass typically associated with billions of years of cosmic evolution.

A fresh explanation for the advanced level of development and mass observed in these ancient galaxies has been offered by the study, published last week in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Until now, physicists have calculated the age of the cosmos by measuring the time elapsed since the Big Bang, and by studying the oldest stars and estimating the rate at which they are moving away, indicating how fast the universe is expanding.

This is calculated based on the shift of light coming from distant galaxies towards the longer Red wavelength due to the expanding universe – a phenomenon similar to how sound frequency changes if the source and the observer are moving relative to each other.

In this way, a 2021 estimate of the age of the universe suggested it is 13.797 billion years old.

But physicist Rajendra Gupta from the University of Ottawa in Canada said this redshift could be a hybrid phenomenon, rather than purely due to the universe’s expansion.

“Our newly-devised model stretches the galaxy formation time by several billion years, making the universe 26.7 billion years old, and not 13.7 as previously estimated,” Dr Gupta said.

The new model suggests the timeframe for the formation of early galaxies observed by the Webb telescope at high redshifts can be extended from a few hundred million years to several billion years.

This new theory offers a fresh explanation for the advanced level of development and mass observed in the strange early galaxies.

The study also suggested the interpretation of the “cosmological constant”, which represents yet-undiscovered dark energy responsible for the accelerating expansion of the universe, may need revision.