Strange red and dusty 'UFOs' discovered in space are not exactly spaceships

Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs, have intrigued humans for decades. Now and then someone spots something strange in the sky and believes it to be extra-terrestrial. However, there is one kind of UFO that can be seen in space. These are "UFO galaxies" that are a mystery to humans.

UFO galaxies are big, red and really dusty and can only be seen in infrared light, with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) first to spot them in deep space. 

This is why they were only discovered recently. They appear similar in size and shape to other galaxies but have never been caught on other telescopes, such as the Hubble. Scientists wanted to figure out more about these galaxies and why they were so red and dusty.

Known as Ultra-red Flattened Objects (UFOs), a team of researchers led by the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) set out on a mission to dive deep into these mystery galaxies, EarthSky reported. They published their peer-reviewed findings in The Astrophysical Journal on October 3, 2024.

Justus Gibson in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at CU Boulder, and the lead author, said, "JWST allows us to see this type of galaxy that we never would have been able to see before. It tells us that maybe we didn’t understand the universe as well as we thought."

Also Read: Smallest asteroid ever spotted hit Earth over Canada in a stunning green fireball

Co-author Erica Nelson added, "They’re so visually striking. They’re enormous red disks that pop up in these images, and they were totally unexpected. They make you say: ‘What? How?’"

Why are UFO galaxies red?

The researchers say that the reason why these galaxies have never been seen before is because they emit very little visible light. Webb is an infrared telescope so was able to pick them up since these galaxies give out infrared radiation. This is why in the photos they appear bright red.

The authors say that some of these UFO galaxies are much closer to us than others that Webb has previously discovered. They say that for the longest time, astronomers believed they knew what the closer galaxies were like. But discovering these UFO galaxies has surprised them all.

While they know what makes these galaxies red, scientists are still trying to understand why they are so dusty. Nelson says UFO galaxies contain 50 times more dust than the Milky Way. 

"Why on Earth do these galaxies have so much more dust than all the other galaxies? Got me," he said.

This is not the first time that red galaxies have been seen. Earlier this month, astronomers found red monster galaxies that formed within the first billion years after the Big Bang. They are shocked to see how massive they are. To get so big so early seems impossible, which has led experts to question – Are these galaxies linked to the UFO galaxies?