NASA discovers one of the farthest galaxies ever


A tiny galaxy far, far, far, far away might help unlock the universe's early history.
NASA announced on Thursday that it had spotted the faint galaxy about 13 billion light-years away as part of its three-year program to investigate the universe's formative years. Five hundred times smaller than the Milky Way and still evolving, it's "one of the farthest galaxies ever seen," NASA says.
The study's leader, Adi Zitrin of the California Institute of Technology, explains why it's important:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This galaxy is an example of what is suspected to be an abundant, underlying population of extremely small, faint objects that existed about 500 million years after the big bang, the beginning of the universe... The discovery is telling us galaxies as faint as this one exist, and we should continue looking for them and even fainter objects, so that we can understand how galaxies and the universe have evolved over time. [NASA]
NASA was able to make the discovery by turning massive galaxy clusters into a "giant cosmic magnifying glass" for the Hubble telescope. These clusters are so large that their gravity forces light to deflect off them, creating lenses for Hubble to peer through. You can read more about this remarkable process over at NASA. --Nico Lauricella
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Nico Lauricella was editor-in-chief at TheWeek.com. He was formerly the site's deputy editor and an editor at The Huffington Post.
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?
The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate branding
In the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play