The galaxy existed around 400 million years after the big bang which happened 13.8 billion years ago.
It has been nicknamed Tayna, which means first-born in the Aymara language which is spoken in the Andes region of South America.
Galaxies such as this one have so far evaded detection, and could offer new glimpses into the evolution of the first galaxies and the make-up of the early universe.
Leopoldo Infante, an astronomer at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, said: "Thanks to this detection, the team has been able to study for the first time the properties of extremely faint objects formed not long after the big bang."
The remote object sits at the observable horizon of the universe, and the details of the discovery have been published in The Astrophysical Journal.
It is similar in size to one of the Milky Way’s satellite galaxies.
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched in 1990, and is expected to be in service until 2040.
Meanwhile, the Spitzer telescope was launched in 2003, and while most of its instruments no longer work its two shortest-wavelength modules still operate.
Astronomers hope that the upcoming James Webb space telescope - due to launch in October 2018 - will let them see the embryonic stages of galaxy birth.
0 comments:
Post a Comment