Guwahati, May 26: A 12.6-billion-year-old structure of young galaxies discovered in the early Universe has been named after Manipur’s iconic Loktak Lake by a young astrophysicist from the state, linking the floating phumdis of Northeast India to one of the earliest known cosmic formations ever identified.
The discovery, named the “Loktak Protocluster,” was led by 29-year-old Manipuri astrophysicist Ronaldo Laishram using observations from Japan’s Subaru Telescope and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.
Laishram is currently a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, where he studies the formation and evolution of galaxies in the early Universe.
The newly identified protocluster dates back to a time when the Universe was only around 1.2 billion years old. Scientists describe a protocluster as the early stage of a galaxy cluster — a massive gravitational network that eventually evolves into giant cosmic systems containing hundreds or even thousands of galaxies.
Laishram described the discovery as a kind of “city of galaxies” still being assembled by gravity in the young Universe.
The study found that galaxies located in crowded regions of the early cosmos were already evolving differently from those in more isolated regions, suggesting that a galaxy’s environment influenced how it grew even during the Universe’s infancy.
The findings have been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, one of the world’s leading journals in astronomy and astrophysics.
What makes the discovery especially significant for Manipur is the inspiration behind its name.
Loktak Lake, Northeast India’s largest freshwater lake, is globally known for its floating phumdis — interconnected masses of vegetation, soil and organic matter drifting across the water surface. According to Laishram, the structure of the newly discovered protocluster resembled these connected floating formations, with multiple concentrations of galaxies linked together within one evolving cosmic system.
“Loktak is deeply connected to Manipur’s identity. Naming this discovery after Loktak Lake is my way of connecting our home with the wider Universe,” Laishram said.
The achievement has drawn praise from political leaders in Manipur, who described the discovery as a proud moment for the state and the Northeast.
Former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh congratulated Laishram on what he called a “historic discovery” that had brought global recognition to both Manipur and Loktak Lake.
“By connecting the name of Loktak with the story of the Universe, you have made every Manipuri proud,” Biren Singh wrote on social media, adding that the achievement reflected the “brilliance, dedication and potential” of Manipuri youth.
Chief Minister Khemchand Singh also hailed the discovery, saying it had placed Manipur on the global scientific map and would inspire future generations to pursue science, innovation and exploration.
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