Astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), jointly operated by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), to observe the "inside out" growth process of a galaxy that formed only 700 million years after the Big Bang. Although this galaxy is only one percent the size of the Milky Way, it appeared exceptionally "mature" in the early universe. The research findings were published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Astronomy. Similar to modern metropolises, the core region of this galaxy is densely populated with stars, while its "suburbs" have relatively sparse stars. Currently, the formation of new stars at the edge of the galaxy is accelerating, indicating its outward expansion. This is the earliest discovered pattern of galaxy growth from the core to the periphery. Before the Webb telescope was put into use, scientists were unable to conduct detailed research on galaxy growth at such an early stage in the history of the universe. By studying similar galaxies, we can enhance our understanding of how these structures evolved from primitive gas clouds to the complex forms we see today. Contemporary galaxies mainly grow through two mechanisms: one is by inhaling or accreting gas to form new stars; Another way is through mergers with smaller galaxies. As for whether the early universe adopted different growth mechanisms, this question requires the help of the Webb telescope to unravel the mystery. The galaxy discovered this time has a high-density core, with a central density comparable to today's giant elliptical galaxies, which have thousands of times more stars than the former. But as the size of the galaxy grows, the rate of peripheral star formation significantly increases. This growth model was once predicted by theoretical models, and now humans are finally able to witness it firsthand. One of the reasons why the Webb telescope is of great significance to the astronomical community is that we are now able to observe phenomena that could only be predicted through modeling in the past The co-author of the paper, William Baker from Cavendish Laboratory, said. They used spectral information of different wavelengths collected by the Webb telescope to estimate the total mass of stars and the current rate of star formation, and modeled them. It is estimated that the mass of stars at the edge of galaxies doubles approximately every 10 million years, a rate much faster than the doubling of the Milky Way every 10 billion years. The team states that how galaxies evolve over time is a key issue in astrophysics. For nearly millions of years, people have accumulated a large amount of relevant data, and now with the help of the Webb telescope, it can be traced back billions of years, exploring the first billion years of the universe. (New Society)