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Astronomers find 13.4 billion-year-old galaxy

Friday, 04 December 2015 11:17 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 04 December 2015 10:40 PM ]

Astronomers have discovered an ancient galaxy dating back to 13.8 billion years ago. (File photo)

Astronomers have found an ancient galaxy dating back to about 13.4 billion years ago, some 400 million years after the Big Bang, in a discovery that could lead to precious insight on how early galaxies were formed and evolved in the universe.

The galaxy, named Tayna, which means ‘first born’ in the South American Aymara language, is located at the observable horizon of the universe along with 21 other ancient galaxies dating to the dawn of the universe.

Scientists said Tayna is approximately the size of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), one of the Milky Way’s small satellite galaxies. Its star formation rate is, however, about 10 times that of the LMC and can give rise to a much larger galaxy in the future.

Astronomers used both the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes in attempts that led to Tayna’s discovery, which came through a technique known as gravitational lensing. The technique was first used when the Hubble imaged a massive galaxy cluster known as MACS0416.1-2403 about four billion light years away.

The cluster acts as a powerful lens, bending and magnifying the light of more distant objects behind it. It made Tayna appear 20 times brighter than normal, making it possible for astronomers to observe it for the first time. The idea of gravitational lensing was introduced by Albert Einstein as part of his “general theory of relativity” some 100 years ago.

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