Overview

• Zhulong, a spiral galaxy with a 60,000-light-year diameter and 100 billion stars, has been identified using JWST's Panoramic Survey program.
• The galaxy's morphology, including a central bulge and star-forming spiral arms, mirrors that of the Milky Way.
• This finding contradicts the standard hierarchical model, which posits that spiral galaxies take billions of years to form through mergers of smaller systems.
• The discovery highlights the effectiveness of JWST's parallel-observing Panoramic Survey in uncovering rare and developed structures in the early universe.
• Researchers are planning follow-up studies with JWST and ALMA to investigate Zhulong's formation and refine models of early galaxy evolution.