JWST finds GS18660, the most distant ring galaxy yet

The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted GS18660, a ring galaxy seen as it appeared 2.1 billion years after the Big Bang — the most distant ring galaxy found so far. The ring likely formed when a small companion galaxy plunged through its center; the companion is now receding at about 425 km/s.

• Galaxy observed 2.1 billion years after the Big Bang
• Companion galaxy recedes from GS18660 at 425 km/s
• 10–20% of the ring's stellar mass formed in recent tens of millions of years
• Impact estimated at 17–42 million years before observation