Hundreds of unexpectedly energetic objects have been discovered throughout the distant universe, possibly hinting that the cosmos was far more active during its infancy than astronomers once believed.

Using deep-field images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), researchers at the University of Missouri identified 300 unusually bright objects in the early universe. While they could be galaxies, astronomers aren't yet sure what they are for certain. Galaxies forming so soon after the Big Bang should be faint, limited by the pace at which they could form stars. Yet these candidates shine far brighter than current models of early galaxy formation predict.