Not to be confused with Abell 1689.

A1689-zD1 is a galaxy in the Virgo constellation. It was a candidate for the most distant and therefore earliest-observed galaxy discovered as of February 2008, based on a photometric redshift.[1][2]

If the redshift, z~7.6,[3] is correct, it would explain why the galaxy's faint light reaches us at infrared wavelengths. It could only be observed with Hubble Space Telescope's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) and the Spitzer Space Telescope's Infrared Array Camera exploiting the natural phenomenon of gravitational lensing: the galaxy cluster Abell 1689, which lies between Earth and A1689-zD1, at a distance of 2.2 billion light-years from us, functions as a natural "magnifying glass" for the light from the far more distant galaxy which lies directly behind it, at 700 million years after the Big Bang, as seen from Earth.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Astronomers Eye Ultra-Young, Bright Galaxy in Early Universe". NASA. 2008-02-12. Archived from the original on 2016-03-18. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  2. ^ "Astronomers Uncover One of the Youngest and Brightest Galaxies in the Early Universe". Space Telescope Science Institute Baltimore, Md. / nasa.gov. 2008-02-12. Archived from the original on 17 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  3. ^ "heic0805: Hubble finds strong contender for galaxy distance record". ESA/Hubble. 2008-02-12. Archived from the original on 8 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-04.