Scientists may have found the universe’s first galaxies — and they’re right on our doorstep
They could be the very first galaxies to ever shine — tiny, ancient star systems born just after the Big Bang. And astonishingly, scientists say they might be hiding in our own cosmic backyard.
A British‑led team at the University of Surrey used ultra‑detailed supercomputer simulations to rewind the clock on the Universe’s entire 13.8‑billion‑year history and uncovered the strange new “stealth” galaxies.
The miniature galaxies - called “globular cluster-like dwarfs” - are so small that they could easily be confused with clusters of stars orbiting our own Milky Way galaxy.
Now, the research, published in Nature, has revealed some of these star clusters – that we’ve known about for over 300 years – may, in fact, be wrapped in their own halos of dark matter, making each, by definition, a mini galaxy hiding in plain sight.
Professor Justin Read, Chair of Astrophysics at Surrey, explained that these stellar systems were the very first galaxies in the Universe to form stars and added that telescopes on the ground and in space are now seeking to confirm the findings.
He said: “If confirmed, they will be a natural 'Rosetta Stone' for understanding the nature of dark matter and for studying how the very first stars lit up the Universe.”