Fact Check: Scientists didn't release this image allegedly showing 'Cosmic Vine' of galaxies. We unearthed the evidence
Yahoo News UK • • science
Key Points:
- Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope discovered a massive protocluster of galaxies called the "Cosmic Vine," consisting of 136 confirmed galaxies from the early universe, as detailed in research papers published in 2024 and 2026.
- Despite social media claims and widely circulated images showing the Cosmic Vine as a helix-shaped chain of galaxies linked like human DNA, the researchers have not released such images; their published images show galaxies spread out rather than connected.
- The viral helix-shaped image credited to NASA and other space agencies is likely an artistic or AI-generated representation and does not reflect the actual structure observed by scientists.
- Galaxy clusters and protoclusters like the Cosmic Vine consist of galaxies that are gravitationally close but not physically chained together; galaxies that come too close often merge rather than form linked chains.
- The Cosmic Dawn Center and original researchers did not endorse or publish the misleading images, and the source of the viral helix image remains unverified.
