alxndrasplace: (NASA) Hubble Shows Farthest Lensing Galaxy...

alxndrasplace:

(NASA) Hubble Shows Farthest Lensing Galaxy Yields Clues to Early Universe

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have unexpectedly discovered the most distant galaxy that acts as a cosmic magnifying glass. Seen here as it looked 9.6 billion years ago, this monster elliptical galaxy breaks the previous record-holder by 200 million years.

(…) The object behind the cosmic lens is a tiny spiral galaxy undergoing a rapid burst of star formation. Its light has taken 10.7 billion years to arrive here and seeing this chance alignment at such a great distance from Earth is a rare find. Locating more of these distant lensing galaxies will offer insight into how young galaxies in the early universe build themselves up into the massive dark-matter-dominated galaxies of today. Dark matter cannot be seen, but it accounts for the bulk of the universe’s matter.

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via Tumblr http://ift.tt/1kqVF6H August 02, 2014 at 01:21AM