That’s one big galaxy! Actually, those are six big galaxies.

But they shouldn’t be so big. At least, not according to popular science.

The James Webb Space Telescope launched in 2021. This telescope floats in space. It orbits the Sun, just like Earth. It can see over 13 billion light years away. That’s nearly the edge of the observable universe!

Scientists believe this telescope will show them the past. How? Light takes time to travel. The farther you look, the farther back in time you see. Astronomers want to see the beginning of the universe.

Looking deep into space, they expected to find baby galaxies. Instead, they found giant galaxies. Each appears to contain as many stars as the Milky Way. That’s over 100 billion stars per galaxy!

This discovery baffles scientists. It messes with their idea of the universe’s timeline. These galaxies should be young. Why do they look so old?

Joel Leja, a researcher from Pennsylvania State University, calls them “universe breakers.”

“It turns out we found something so unexpected it actually creates problems for science,” says Dr. Leja.

Researchers still await final confirmation of their discovery. Some of the galaxies could turn out to be black holes. In a black hole, matter squeezes tightly together. No light escapes.

But researchers say it’s almost certain that some of these galaxies are—well, actual galaxies.

New discoveries remind us that science has to change. But we can trust a God who never changes. He made all the galaxies. He made Earth and all people. (Remember too that He made Adam and Eve as grown-ups—not babies. He can create at any stage of development He chooses!)

He gives us the gift of science. When we learn about creation, we learn about the Creator!

Why? Figuring out what ideas and theories we got wrong is an important part of science. Science is an ongoing process of learning. 

For more about wondrous galaxies and space, see A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle in our Recommended Reading.