Astronomers have recently confirmed that the universe appears to be expanding at vastly different speeds in different places, according to a study published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Using the James Webb and Hubble Space telescopes starting in 2019, scientists confirmed that the different expansion rates that have long been assumed to be a telescope error, are accurate.

“With measurement errors negated, what remains is the real and exciting possibility we have misunderstood the universe,” Adam Riess, professor of physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins University, told Live Science.

“[The] next steps are many. More data on many fronts and new ideas are needed.”

Marc Kamionkowski, a cosmologist at Johns Hopkins University, says this may indicate that there is “something missing in our understanding of the early universe, such as a new component of matter.”

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville had a hand in development of the telescope.