Astronomers have seen the most distant galaxy. She was born shortly after the big bang
So far no one was able to send in the perfect solution, which is not strange. The newly discovered red dot has shone in space for 300 million years since its birth.
Astronomers have seen the most distant space object yet – the galaxy. Its red light dates back to 13.5 billion years ago. This means that it left the galaxy just 300 million years after the Big Bang, which is considered the birth of the universe.
The discoverers named the object HD1 and describe it on a scientific portal arXiv. It is about 100 million years older than the GN-z11 galaxy, which has so far been the most distant object and is about 34 billion light-years from Earth. Scientists have determined this from the redshift that occurs when the observed object (due to the expansion of space) moves away from the observer (on Earth).
Far, far away: Astronomers reveal most distant galaxy on record
Galaxy HD1 is 13.5 billion light-years away and may be home to first stars in the universe — or a black hole about 100 million times the mass of the sun.
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Light from the galaxy GN-z11 arrived at a redshift of 11.1. The galaxy HD1 shows a redshift of 13.3.
“The red color of HD1 corresponds surprisingly well to the characteristics of light emitted by the galaxy 13.5 billion light-years ago. When I found out, I was goosebumps, “the magazine quotes Science Alert astrophysicist Juichi Harikane from the University of Tokyo, a member of the international team that studied the object.
The glow of the object flew to us 13.5 billion years at the speed of light. However, because the universe has been expanding during this time, its distance is much greater today.
Timeline showing the history of the universe. On the right you see the newly observed galaxy HD1. | zdroj: credit-Harikane et al / NASA
Scientists are not yet sure if HD1 is really a galaxy. If confirmed, the galaxy would contain first-generation stars that were born 250 to 350 million years after the Big Bang. But it can be a quasar (a body with a significant redshift of the spectrum) with a supermassive black hole at its center, which reaches a mass of 100 million Suns.
“It will be even more difficult to answer questions about the nature of the light source so far away. It’s like recognizing a ship sailing far from shore in a storm and fog. One sees only some of the colors of her flag, “said astronomer Fabio Pacucci, a member of the research team Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Astronomers used four powerful optical and infrared telescopes – Subaru, VISTA, Spitzer and ALMA. They hope to have the opportunity to continue research with the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful and expensive telescope humanity has ever built.
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Resources:
Science Alert, arXiv, CFA Harvard
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