Astronomers discover most distant galaxy yet

[shunyadragon]

Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/maryland-health/bs-hs-furthest-galaxy-20150505-story.html

Astronomers discover most distant galaxy yet

astronomers have peered deeper into the universe than ever before, setting a record for the most distant galaxy ever spotted by telescopes..

The galaxy is more than 13 billion years old, created just 670 million years after the Big Bang. Astronomers spotted it deep within Hubble Space Telescope images, and a team led by scientists at Yale University and the University of California confirmed its existence and age using data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and a ground-based telescope in Hawaii.

Astronomers called it a significant step, with more advances expected once powerful telescopes under construction are completed.

"It kind of makes us think this is like the tip of the iceberg," said Jennifer Lotz, an associate astronomer at Baltimore's Space Telescope Science Institute, which manages scientific operations of Hubble and its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, which is scheduled to launch in 2018. "With the next generation of telescopes, we'll start to see a lot more things at the edge of the universe."

The galaxy, named EGS-zs8-1, stood out in images taken by the Hubble and Spitzer telescopes as one of the brightest and largest objects in the early universe.

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[Irate Canadian]

Hurrah!

[Cerealman]

Walking distance