Science, Discovery, Tech and Environment · 27 May 2026

Indian Scientist Discovers 12.6-Billion-Year-Old Loktak Protocluster

Exam-focused facts from the 27 May 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

  • Dr Ronaldo Laishram, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), led an international astronomy study that discovered a 12.6-billion-year-old structure of young galaxies.
  • The cosmic structure, described as a city of galaxies, has been officially named the Loktak Protocluster after Loktak Lake in Manipur.
  • The research team utilised data from the Subaru Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study the distant structure.
  • The Loktak Protocluster consists of four distinct concentrations of galaxies that are interconnected as part of one massive, evolving system.
  • The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, found that galaxies in crowded regions of the early Universe grew differently from those in quieter regions.

View this story in the full daily briefing

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