Indian Scientists Discover Milky Way–Like Galaxy From 12 Billion Years Ago

Indian astronomers in Pune have identified a rare, fully formed spiral galaxy from the early universe that looks strikingly similar to the Milky Way, using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The galaxy, named Alaknanda, is seen as it was nearly 12 billion years ago, when the universe was only around 10% of its current age, and its discovery challenges long-held theories about how and when large, well-structured galaxies form.​

Early Milky Way twin in the young universe

Alaknanda was spotted in JWST images from a time when the universe was about 1.5 billion years old, compared with its present age of roughly 13.8 billion years. Light from the galaxy has taken close to 12 billion years to reach Earth, meaning astronomers are effectively seeing it in the distant past.​

The galaxy shows a classic grand-design spiral structure, with two clear arms wrapped around a bright central bulge, much like the Milky Way. Observations indicate that Alaknanda spans about 30,000 light-years across—roughly one-third the diameter of our own galaxy—and contains around 10 billion times the mass of the Sun in stars.​

Key facts about galaxy Alaknanda

Indian team and how the discovery was made

The work was led by PhD researcher Rashi Jain at the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (NCRA‑TIFR) in Pune, under the supervision of senior astronomer Professor Yogesh Wadadekar. Their findings were published in November 2025 in the peer‑reviewed European journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, following independent review by the global scientific community.​

Jain identified Alaknanda while combing through JWST imaging of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 2744, a dataset containing around 70,000 individual objects. Among those, only one system showed the unmistakable, large-scale spiral arms and central disc expected of a mature spiral galaxy, prompting detailed follow‑up analysis by the team.​

Discovery timeline

The galaxy was named Alaknanda after the Himalayan river, chosen deliberately as a sister reference to Mandakini, a traditional Hindi name linked with the Milky Way. The choice underscores both the cultural roots of the Indian team and the physical resemblance between the newly found system and our home galaxy.​

Why Alaknanda challenges galaxy-formation theory

Standard models suggest that galaxies in the first couple of billion years after the Big Bang should mostly be small, irregular and turbulent, still assembling their mass and structure. In that picture, large, stable spiral discs like the Milky Way are expected to appear much later, after repeated mergers and gradual disc settling over billions of years.​

Alaknanda does not fit neatly into this framework. It is already massive, with a well-organised disc and prominent spiral arms at a time when such order was thought to be rare, implying that at least some galaxies assembled quickly and efficiently in the early universe. Measurements also indicate that the galaxy is forming new stars at a rate estimated to be roughly 30 times higher than that of the Milky Way today, pointing to an intense phase of growth.​

Alaknanda vs the Milky Way

The existence of such a mature spiral so early suggests that gas in some dark matter haloes may have cooled and settled into discs much faster than many simulations predict. Astronomers say this single object adds to a growing list of JWST discoveries showing that the early universe may have been more evolved, and more capable of building large structures quickly, than previously assumed.​

Role of James Webb telescope and next steps for Indian scientists

The discovery relied on JWST’s highly sensitive infrared cameras, which can pick up faint, distant galaxies whose light has been stretched to longer wavelengths by the expansion of the universe. The field observed also benefits from gravitational lensing by the foreground Abell 2744 cluster, where the cluster’s mass acts like a natural cosmic lens, magnifying background objects such as Alaknanda.​

With Alaknanda now identified, the Pune-based team and their collaborators plan detailed spectroscopic observations to measure how gas and stars move within the galaxy’s disc. By testing whether the motions are predominantly smooth and rotational, or disturbed and chaotic, they hope to pinpoint how such a well-defined spiral pattern emerged so rapidly after the Big Bang.​

Planned follow-up studies

Researchers note that Alaknanda will likely become an important benchmark object for testing numerical simulations of galaxy formation and evolution in the early universe. The result also highlights India’s growing role in frontline astrophysics, with domestic institutes using cutting-edge international observatories to make discoveries that shape global theory.