Mature galaxy shock
Astronomers have discovered the most distant massive structure yet found in the universe—a massive galaxy cluster that appears to be in a ‘very advanced’ state of development. However, because it’s so distant, they believe that the light must have taken a long time to arrive here. Therefore the light must have started a long time ago, so we are looking at a feature not too long after the supposed big bang.
This was unexpected, because there shouldn’t have been enough time after the big bang for it to form—at least not naturally.
‘We have underestimated how quickly the early Universe matured into its present-day incarnation,’ said astronomer Piero Rosati, of the European Southern Observatory. ‘The Universe grew up fast.’
A press release highlights the amazement: ‘The discovery of such a complex and mature structure so early in the history of the Universe is highly surprising.’
- European Southern Observatory, www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2005/pr-04-05.html, 17 March 2005.
- World Science, members.aol.com/mlucen/050302_univ.htm, 8 March 2005.
No surprise for Bible-believing Christians—God created stars and galaxies in mature form on Day 4 of Creation Week. See also Young galaxies too old for the big bang, Creation 26(3):15, 2004.
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