Scientists were able to confirm the presence of the faintest, furthest galaxy 13 billion light years away from Earth.
University of California (UC) Davis physicists used the Keck II telescope at Mauna Kea Keck Observatory and gravitational lensing to detect the faint galaxy.
For their study, the scientists detected the object behind the MACS2129.4-0741, a galaxy cluster big enough to form three varying pictures showing the same spectra.
Lead author and postdoctoral researcher Kuang-Han Huang said that visualizing the object is not possible without the magnification produced by the gravitational lens.
Astronomers believe that the existence of the faint object would shed light on the reionization epoch, when stars were first seen.
Reionization Epoch
The detected galaxy is seen at the edge of the reionization epoch, when many of the galactic hydrogen gases shifted from neutrality to ionization.
"This galaxy is exciting because the team infers a very low stellar mass, or only one percent of one percent of the Milky Way galaxy," Keck Observatory staff astronomer Marc Kassis said.
The galaxy could be the key to understanding the stars that dominated that time. Through it, astronomers may be able to answer why stars shifted to ionization, an event that caused the stars to finally be seen and when matter started to become more complex.
Seeing The Universe
The telescopes at the Keck Observatory were instrumental in the study.
"Their power, paired with the gravitational force of a massive cluster of galaxies, allows us to truly see where no human has seen before," said Marusa Bradac, a UC Davis professor and study co-team leader.
The distant galaxy was first detected by the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes late last year.
The newest findings were published in Astrophysical Journal Letters on May 19.
