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EGSY8p7

Coordinates: Sky map 4h 20m 08.50s, +52° 53′ 26.60″
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EGSY8p7
EGSY-2008532660
EGSY8p7 (Hubble and Spitzer, space telescopes)
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Right ascension14h 20m 08.50s
Declination+52° 53′ 26.60″
Redshift8.68
Characteristics
TypeGalaxy
Other designations
EGSY8p7,[1] EGSY-2008532660,[2] EGS8p7[3]

EGSY8p7 (EGSY-2008532660) is a distant galaxy, with a spectroscopic redshift of z = 8.68 (photometric redshift 8.57), a light travel distance of 13.2 billion light-years from Earth, an age of 13.2 billion years, and observed as it existed 570 million years after the Big Bang which occurred 13.8 billion years ago. In July 2015, EGSY8p7 was announced as the oldest and most-distant known object, surpassing the previous record holder, EGS-zs8-1, which was determined in May 2015 as the oldest and most distant object. In March 2016, Pascal Oesch, one of the discoverers of EGSY8p7, announced the discovery of GN-z11, an older and more distant galaxy.[4]

Detection

The light of the EGSY8p7 galaxy appears to have been magnified twofold by gravitational lensing in the light's travel to Earth, enabling the detection of EGSY8p7, which would not have been possible without the magnification. EGSY8p7's distance from Earth was determined by measuring the redshift of Lyman-alpha emissions. EGSY8p7 is the most distant known detection of hydrogen's Lyman-alpha emissions. The distance of this detection was surprising, because neutral hydrogen (atomic hydrogen) clouds filling the early universe should have absorbed these emissions, even by some hydrogen cloud sources closer to Earth, according to the standard cosmological model. A possible explanation for the detection would be that reionization progressed in a "patchy" manner, rather than homogeneously throughout the universe, creating patches where the EGSY8p7 hydrogen Lyman-alpha emissions could travel to Earth, because there were no neutral hydrogen clouds to absorb the emissions.[5][1][6][2][3][7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "A new record: Keck Observatory measures most distant galaxy" (Press release). W. M. Keck Observatory. Astronomy Now. 6 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b O'Callaghan, Jonathan; Zolfagharifard, Ellie (17 July 2015). "A galaxy that rally IS far, far away: Astronomers confirm star system 13.1 billion light-years away is the most distant known in the universe". London: Daily Mail.
  3. ^ a b Pyle, Rod (3 September 2015). "Farthest Galaxy Detected". Caltech.
  4. ^ Amos, Jonathan (March 3, 2016). "Hubble sets new cosmic distance record". BBC News. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  5. ^ Wall, Mike (5 August 2015). "Ancient Galaxy Is Most Distant Ever Found". Space.com.
  6. ^ Winkler, Mario De Leo (15 July 2015). "The Farthest Object in the Universe". Huffington Post.
  7. ^ "Farthest Galaxy Detected | Caltech". Retrieved 2015-09-08.

Further reading

Records
Preceded by Most distant known astronomical object
2015–2016 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Most distant known galaxy
2015–2016 		Succeeded by
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