Scientists Discover Farthest Galaxy From Earth Ever Recorded

Scientists have just found a galaxy so far away from Earth that it offers a glimpse back in time to the Big Bang.

The galaxy, discovered at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, lies about 13.2 billion light years from Earth, farther than any other galaxy ever measured. This distance means that researchers who are observing the galaxy’s stars today are seeing them as they were just 600 million years after the Big Bang, according to a press release from the observatory. The universe was created about 13.8 billion years ago, based on modern estimates.

California Institute of Technology astronomer Adi Zitrin, lead author of the discovery paper, described the study of distant galaxies: “we penetrate deeper into the Universe, and hence back to earlier times.”

The discovery of this galaxy, known as EGSY8p7, could provide a valuable window into the universe’s past.

Subscribe to TIME

Get our Space Newsletter. Sign up to receive the week's news in space.

Please enter a valid email address.

* The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again.

Sign Up Now

An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later.

Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME.

You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you!

For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.

Write to Tessa Berenson at tessa.berenson@time.com.