James Webb Space Telescope Reveals Early Galaxies Resembled Surfboards and Pool Noodles

Study of images from the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey shows that 50 to 80% of early galaxies were flat and elongated, a shape uncommon in the present-day universe.

Researchers analyzing images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have found that galaxies in the early universe were often flat and elongated, resembling surfboards and pool noodles, and were rarely round.
Approximately 50 to 80% of the galaxies studied appear to be flattened in two dimensions, a surprising find as these shapes are uncommon in the present-day universe.
The team focused on images from the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey, studying galaxies that existed when the universe was 600 million to 6 billion years old.
The Milky Way galaxy might have appeared more like a surfboard billions of years ago, based on new evidence from the Webb telescope and theoretical projections of the Milky Way’s mass in the distant past.
These early galaxies are also far less massive than nearby spirals and ellipticals, indicating they were precursors to more massive galaxies like our own.