Astronomers may have uncovered a hidden population of galaxies that could rewrite what we know about the universe’s evolution.

These faint, dusty galaxies were discovered using the deepest far-infrared image ever created, thanks to data from the Herschel Space Observatory. Their collective light might explain a long-standing mystery about the universe’s energy output in the infrared spectrum. If confirmed, these galaxies would challenge current galaxy evolution models and reveal a previously unseen side of the cosmos—one shrouded in dust and only visible in longer wavelengths of light.

Unveiling hidden galaxies in the early universe.