spacetoday.net: Hubble observes most distant galaxy yet

Posted: Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 7:35 AM ET (1235 GMT)
UDFj-39546284 Hubble image (STScI)

Astronomers announced Wednesday the discovery of the most distant galaxy yet observed, an object that dates back to the first half-billion years of the universe. The object, designated UDFj-39546284, is a compact galaxy of blue stars with a redshift of approximately 10, which dates the galaxy to just 480 million years after the Big Bang. Astronomers discovered the galaxy in Hubble Ultra Deep Field - Infrared data collected by the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 in 2009 and 2010. Astronomers said that the discovery demonstrates that the rate of star development increased by a factor of 10 between the time of this galaxy and slightly younger galaxies previously discovered. Discovery of even older galaxies, dating back to 275 million years after the Big Bang, will require the use of the James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in the middle of the decade.