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UDFy-38135539 facts for kids

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UDFy-38135539-HST-eso1041b
UDFy-38135539
Hubble Ultra Deep Field diagram
Hubble looking into the past.

UDFy-38135539 (also known as HUDF.YD3) is a galaxy in the Fornax constellation. At present it is the farthest confirmed object ever seen. UDFy-38135539 is 13.1 billion light years from the Earth.

Characteristics

The galaxy is in the constellation Fornax, and it is estimated that the galaxy contains a billion stars.

Significance

The universe's first stars were massive, ionizing hydrogen in the surrounding environment. This is called the ionization epoch.

UDFy-38135539 (HUDF.YD3) is probably the first galaxy seen in the reionization epoch. Caltech astronomer Brant Robertson, commenting on the study, stated that the "galaxy happens to reside at a very special time in cosmic history when the properties of gas in the universe were changing rapidly, and therefore this galaxy and others like it may teach us a lot about the early history of the universe". Michele Trenti, an astronomer who was not involved in the study but provided commentary published with the report, says that the discovery of the distant galaxy is

"a fundamental leap forward in observational cosmology".

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: UDFy-38135539 para niños

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