Highlights
- The galaxy described as a 'cosmic ring of fire' by the researchers
- It is a rare type of galaxy, never before documented in modern astronomy.
- Researchers said that this discovery will change the view of scientists about galaxies.
Described as a "cosmic ring of fire", Western Australian-based researcher involved in the project, Dr Almed Elagali says the galaxy's discovery is very significant.
"It is actually very significant it is the earliest or the most distance collision galaxy to be discovered to date, it was discovered 11 billion years ago, so it's very exciting, to be honest."
Swinburne University researcher Dr Tiantian Yuan led the team of international researchers to the discovery, with their findings published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Dr Yuan says even after two years of research - they never imagined they'd discover such an unusual galaxy.
"This galaxy is a big one and it existed 11 billion years ago in the universe and it has a gigantic hole in it. So a galaxy with this kind of image or hole methodology is very rare."
The galaxy has been named R-5-5-1-9 and is what researchers call a "collisional ring galaxy".
A collisional ring galaxy is doughnut-like in shape and is formed when one galaxy collides with a larger galaxy - leaving a hole in the middle, as Dr Yuan explains.
Dr Elagali believes the significance of their discovery lies not just in the galaxy itself - but in what it can teach astronomers about galaxy formation.
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