https://www.newscientist.com/article/2445967-astronomers-puzzled-by-little-red-galaxies-that-seem-impossibly-dense/ Close Advertisement Skip to content Sign in Search the website [ ] [ ] * Events * Tours * Shop * Courses * Jobs Subscribe now Explore by section * News * Features * Newsletters * Podcasts * Video * Comment * Culture * Crosswords * | * This week's magazine Explore by subject * Health * Space * Physics * Technology * Environment * Mind * Humans * Life * Mathematics * Chemistry * Earth * Society Explore our products and services * Events * Tours * Shop * Courses * Jobs Subscribe now Subscribe now Space Astronomers puzzled by little red galaxies that seem impossibly dense 'Little red dot' galaxies seen by JWST appear to be much more tightly packed with stars than other galaxies, raising big questions about how they came to be this way By Alex Wilkins 30 August 2024 [SEI_219239644] JWST images of little red dot galaxies Josephine F.W. Baggen et al. (2024) Strangely bright galaxies spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), called "little red dots", may have more stars packed into them than any other galaxies we know of. The density appears so high that it's unclear how the stars even survive without crashing into their neighbours, challenging astronomers' best ideas of how galaxies grow. Shortly after JWST started searching the extremely distant universe in 2022, astronomers started to see extremely bright and red, but apparently tiny, galaxies, which they called little red dots... Advertisement Sign up to our weekly newsletter Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox! We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers. Sign up To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers Unlock this article No commitment, cancel anytime* Offer ends 10 September 2024. *Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues. Inclusive of applicable taxes (VAT) or Existing subscribers Sign in to your account Advertisement More from New Scientist Explore the latest news, articles and features Space Dark matter could be hiding inside strange failed stars News Subscriber-only Space Our galaxy may host strange black holes born just after the big bang News Subscriber-only Space Starlink tests show how to save radio astronomy from satellites News Subscriber-only Space Astronomers might finally have explanation for mysterious Wow! signal News Subscriber-only Popular articles Trending New Scientist articles 1 Astronomers puzzled by little red galaxies that seem impossibly dense 2 Generative AI creates playable version of Doom game with no code 3 Plastic vaporising process could recycle bags and bottles indefinitely 4 World's largest sailing cargo ship makes first transatlantic voyage 5 Potato yarn may cut the fashion industry's environmental footprint 6 Quantum holograms can send messages that disappear 7 This is how your brain knows when the beat is about to drop 8 Ultracold quantum battery could be charged with quantum tunnelling 9 N.K. Jemisin on the prescience and brilliance of Parable of the Sower 10 Our writers pick their favourite science fiction books of all time Advertisement Download the app Download on the apple apps store Download on Google play Find us on social media * Find us on Instagram Instagram * Find us on Facebook Facebook * Find us on X / Twitter X / Twitter * Find us on Tiktok Tiktok * Find us on LinkedIn LinkedIn * Find us on WhatsApp WhatsApp Subscriptions * Subscriber benefits * Gift * Student & graduate * Educational * Corporate Support * Contact us * Help * About us * Press room * Advertise * Write for us Tools * Events * Science Jobs * CoLab * Syndication * RSS feeds Legal and privacy * Complaint policy * Privacy policy * Cookie policy * Terms & conditions * Cookie Settings (c) Copyright New Scientist Ltd. Back to the top