Since its launch a little over three years ago, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos, providing images of unprecedented clarity and uncovering mysteries that challenge our theories about the origin and evolution of the universe. A recent study conducted by Lior Shamir, a researcher at Kansas State University and associate professor at the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering, has highlighted a fascinating discovery: most of the galaxies observed in the deep universe rotate in the same direction.
Images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) reveal that around two-thirds of the analyzed galaxies exhibit clockwise rotation, while only about one-third rotate in the opposite direction. This discovery, published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, is based on the detailed study of 263 galaxies whose structures allowed their direction of rotation to be clearly identified.
The analysis of the galaxies was conducted through a quantitative examination of their shapes, but the difference is so evident that anyone looking at the image could notice it, Shamir explained. No specialized knowledge is required to see that the numbers are different. The observational capability of the James Webb Telescope makes it visible to the naked eye.
In a universe governed by randomness, one would expect the number of galaxies rotating in one direction to be roughly the same as those rotating in the opposite direction. However, the data collected by Webb suggest that this is not the case, raising fundamental questions about the dynamics of the cosmos.
Possible explanations: a new perspective on the origin of the universe
Scientists have proposed two main explanations for this phenomenon. The first suggests that the universe may have been born with a defined rotation. This theory aligns with black hole cosmology, a hypothesis that proposes that the entire universe could be the interior of a black hole of colossal dimensions. If this idea were true, it would imply that current theories about the origin and evolution of the cosmos need to be revised and expanded.
Another explanation lies in an effect known as the Doppler shift, which could be influencing the observations. Earth rotates around the center of the Milky Way, and according to this physical phenomenon, the light from galaxies rotating in the opposite direction to Earth may appear brighter than expected. Traditionally, it has been considered that the Milky Way’s rotation speed is too low to significantly affect astronomical observations. However, if this effect is playing a larger role than previously thought, it might be necessary to recalibrate distance measurements in the deep universe.
If the observations from the James Webb Telescope are influenced by the Milky Way’s rotation speed, astronomers may be forced to rethink their models of how the expansion of the universe is measured. This could help explain some of the existing discrepancies in modern cosmology, such as the differences in the universe’s expansion rates determined by different methods and the appearance of giant galaxies that, according to current calculations, seem to be older than the universe itself.
If we really need to recalibrate our distance measurements, this could resolve several questions that have puzzled astronomers so far, Shamir stated. It would help us better understand the evolution of the cosmos and resolve paradoxes that do not fit with current models.
The James Webb Telescope continues to provide images of the universe with unprecedented clarity, allowing scientists to tackle fundamental questions about the structure and evolution of the cosmos. As more studies are conducted and observations are expanded to a greater number of galaxies, it will become clearer whether the observed trend in galaxy rotation is a universal pattern or a phenomenon limited to certain regions of space.
SOURCES
Lior Shamir, The distribution of galaxy rotation in JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 538, Issue 1, March 2025, Pages 76–91, doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf292
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