LONDON: The oldest and farthest known galaxy in the universe may have just been detected. Researchers believe the unusually luminous galaxy EGS8p7 could be almost as old as the 13.8 billion-year-old universe itself—based on a determination taking into account two different visible phenomena.
One is the galaxy’s redshift, a result of the Doppler effect. Redshift is used to measure the distance, and thus the age, of a galaxy. Instead of a marked drop in sound, as happens with a passing siren, light is stretched and appears redder the farther away any given galaxy is.
Second, EGS8p7 has a visible Lyman-alpha line, a signature of hydrogen gas heated by ultraviolet radiation pouring out of stars in their infancy. This shouldn’t have been possible at the galaxy’s redshift—measured at 8.68—because typically such radiation is absorbed.
But the Lyman-alpha line is visible. Leaving researchers speculative and hopeful about the potential this seemingly-impossible galaxy holds for understanding the evolutionary nature of the universe.
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