Researchers wrote papers on the two massive spiral galaxies, bothcurrentlyhostedon the preprint server arXiv.
Spiral galaxies with less defined arms are called flocculent spiral galaxies.
A2744-GDSp-z4 (sorry, no fun nickname) can be seen below in composite images by Webb.
Messier 81, a grand design spiral galaxy 12 million light-years from Earth.Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Willner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) / Wikimedia Commons
The galaxy weighs in at around 14 billion solar masses and has a surprisingly developed structure for its age.
The grand-design spiral is only generating about 66 solar masses per year.
That finding is interesting when paired with previous Webb telescope data thatindicatedancient galaxies were metal-poor and very gassy.
Composite images of A2744-GDSp-z4 taken by Webb across several color bands. Image: Jain et al., 2024
Perhaps Zhulong, despite its size, lacked the correct assets for a faster rate of star formation.
When the light bends, it is refocusedmagnifiedfor telescopes like Webb.
Nearby galaxies imaged by the telescope are seen in much sharper relief.
Below is a slider showing how Webbs instruments reveal different aspects of a grand design spiral galaxy.
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As for the Moon, not so much.
