CNN —Researchers have discovered a distant disc galaxy that has surprisingly similar characteristics to our own Milky Way, and it could change our understanding of how galaxies form. Early galaxies tend to join together and develop smoother shapes incredibly slowly, with our Milky Way taking billions of years to develop tidy structures, the researchers said. The rotation and structure of the galaxy were observed using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope in northern Chile. “Finding further evidence of more evolved structures would be an exciting discovery, as it would be the most distant galaxy with such structures observed to date,” Rowland said. “ALMA also reveals details finer than earlier telescopes.”Blain said more research is needed before scientists change their understanding of galaxy formation.

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Persons: Chile Alberto Pena, Jacqueline Hodge, ” Lucie Rowland, ” Rowland, Andrew Blain, “, ” Blain, ALMA, ALMA there’s, ”, “ ALMA, Dave Clements, that’s Organizations: CNN —, Leiden University, Getty, University of Leicester, CNN, Imperial College London, Royal Astronomical Society Locations: Netherlands, Chile, AFP