Scientists find a galaxy 13.2 billion light years from Earth

The Universe is infinite and millions of galaxies reside in it. So far, we’ve seen able to identify only a few of them and up to a specific distant. Well, now the scientists have found a new galaxy that is roughly 13.2 billion light years away from the Earth. This galaxy has become the farthest one to be recognized by us humans yet. However, the record for the farthest galaxy being found was set in May this year. Both of these were discovered by the twin telescopes of Keck Observatory in Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The Universe is thought to be born 13.8 billion years ago because of the big bang. The discovery of this galaxy now means that the light from this galaxy must have taken 13.2 billion years to reach the Earth. The new found galaxy has been named EGYS8p7 and it is believed that it must have started just 600 million years after the formation of the Universe.The other one, EGS-zsy8-1 was found in May and is said to be 13 billion light years away.The increasing rate in the findings of new galaxies and other heavenly bodies can be attributed to the fact that the telescopes and other instruments have improved over time and better searches can be carried out through them.

Image Source: blastr.com

The scientists captured an image of hydrogen emission from the galaxy which is a very rare event. This discovery will also help the scientists to understand how the stars initially lit up after the Big Bang. California Institute of Technology astronomer, AdiZitrin, who is also the lead author of the research paper said,” We frequently see the Layman –Alpha emission line of hydrogen in nearby objects as it is one of the most reliable tracers of star-formation. However, as we penetrate deeper into the Universe, the space between galaxies contains a increasing number of dark clouds of hydrogen which absorbs this signal.”

Through computer simulation the researchers have been able to suggest that the Universe was full of hydrogen gas in the first 400 million years of cosmic history. And then gradually, as the first galaxies were born, the intense UV light from the younger stars burnt off the hydrogen in bubbles of increasing radius. The scientists who found the new galaxy have stressed that this discovery will help them a lot and will offer an insight into how some things in the Universe work.