Japan Astronomers Find What May Be Farthest Galaxy Ever

Tokyo, April 7 (Jiji Press)--An international team including Japanese astronomers said Thursday that it has spotted what may be the farthest galaxy ever observed, using observation data collected by Japan's Subaru Telescope.

The galaxy, called HD1, is thought to be 13.5 billion light-years away from Earth. Additional observations are necessary to confirm the distance.

The galaxy was observed as it existed some 300 million years after the big bang, because the light coming from it traveled 13.5 billion light-years to reach Earth. Observations of the galaxy are thus expected to provide insight into what the early universe was like.

The team includes researchers of the University of Tokyo, Waseda University, the University of Tsukuba, Nagoya University and the National Institute of Technology's Toba College.

The finding will be published in the Astrophysical Journal, a U.S. scientific journal.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]