Posted on 02/12/2008 12:49:07 PM PST by NormsRevenge
Astronomers have glimpsed what may be the farthest galaxy we've ever seen, providing a picture of a baby galaxy born soon after the beginning of the universe.
Images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope have revealed the galaxy at almost 13 billion light-years away, making it the strongest candidate for the most distant galaxy ever seen, said European Southern Observatory astronomer Piero Rosati, who helped make the discovery.
Since the galaxy is so far away, its light took ages to reach us, so what we see now is a snapshot of how this galaxy looked 13 billion years ago. At that point in time, the galaxy would have been newly formed, so the new observations provide a baby picture.
"We certainly were surprised to find such a bright young galaxy 13 billion years in the past," said astronomer Garth Illingworth of the University of California, Santa Cruz, a member of the research team. "This is the most detailed look to date at an object so far back in time."
The young galaxy, called A1689-zD1, was born about 700 million years after the Big Bang that scientists think created the universe. For most of its early life, the universe languished in "dark ages" when matter in the expanding universe cooled and formed clouds of hydrogen. Eventually matter began to clump into stars and galaxies that radiated light, heating up the universe and clearing the fog.
Scientists think this newly discovered galaxy may have been one of the first to form and help end the dark ages.
"This galaxy presumably is one of the many galaxies that helped end the dark ages," said astronomer Larry Bradley of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, leader of the research team. "Astronomers are fairly certain that high-energy objects such as quasars did not provide enough energy to end the dark ages of the universe. But many young star-forming galaxies may have produced enough energy to end it."
The discovery was made possible by a natural magnifying glass — the galaxy cluster Abell 1689, which lies between us and the distant galaxy. Abell 1689's gravity is so strong it bends light that passes near it, acting like a giant zoom lens that magnifies what we see.
"This galaxy lies near the region where the galaxy cluster produces the highest magnification," Rosati said, "which was essential to bring this galaxy within reach of Hubble and Spitzer."
The discovery, announced today, will be detailed in the Astrophysical Journal.
News Release Number: STScI-2008-08
Astronomers Find One of the Youngest and Brightest Galaxies in the Early Universe
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2008/08/
Yeah, that's where Spitzer belongs.
Duhhhhh.. you don't say, could it be, 13 billion years?... Man I love reporters..
OK I admit I know nothing about this stuff but I know there are some geniuses on FR concerning this subject since I myself am a genius on other stuff. (Said with great humility of course.) Anyhow how do they determine that this thing is 13 billion light years from us?
I dream that when we leave this rock called Earth we will be able to travel the universe as an energized soul.
Amen.
By looking at the color spectrum of the light. Colors have wavelengths and there is a way of measuring the redshift of the spectrum that is detected.
More info here:
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEM8AAR1VED_index_0.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_shift
Spitzer Space Telescope
Astronomers Eye Ultra-Young, Bright Galaxy in Early Universe
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2008-04/release.shtml
Ever read the Perelandra series by C.S. Lewis? Some interesting ideas along those lines . . .
The Doppler red shift of the light from the object...IIRC
Young Hottie!
ML/NJ
You’re right...but IIRC, with the speed, they can tell how far it is...something about the farther it is, the faster it appears to be moving away...it’s been almost 20 years since my ONE college astronomy class...
Thanks for the recommendation. I haven’t read the series nor did I know of It but I soon will.
Mostly they used redshift, although sometimes they can see an object inside a galaxy that is of a type they know fairly well and can get the distance a second way from that. The redshift is the actual data and the distance is the result of a pile of assumptions.
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It’s a very good series. Mixture of old school sci-fi and theology.
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