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Most Distant Object in Universe Discovered

Posted by jimjag on from the are-we-there-yet? dept.

The_Jazzman writes, "Using the 200-inch Hale Telescope at Mt. Palomar Observatory in California and the 157-inch Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak, Ariz., astronomers, it seems, have disocvered the ">most distant object in the known universe: a quasar in the constellation of Cetus the Whale." The beastie is about 13 million light years away, making it quite old as well, of course. Update that's 13 billion. Stupid typo :)

4 of 229 comments (clear)

  1. Expansion Rate of the Universe. by kevlar · · Score: 4

    Check out this article about how the most widely accepted value for H0 was determined using Type Ia Supernovae.

    Type Ia Supernovae are known to have a specific luminosity peak. From this you can determine its distance. From its spectral redshift, they determine its recessional velocity. Using this information, they determine that the Universe is between 12.5 and 15.6 Billion years old. It puts H0 at 64km/sec/mpc.

    The Supernova used for this paper was SN1998bu.

  2. typo alert! by ywwg · · Score: 4

    It is 13 billion lightyears away, not 13 million.

  3. Slashdot Accuracy? (OT) by JustShootMe · · Score: 5

    OK, I just have to say this - and I have the karma to burn, so...

    Why can't you guys do even some basic proofreading of your stories? So far, out of the past, maybe, 20 stories, probably 18 of them have had SOME kind of error in them. I'm not expecting perfection, but Rob, you said yourself in "Geeks in Space" that you are now a journalist. Journalists check their facts and journalists proofread.

    I mean, come on. You can make a few mistakes here and there, that's fine. I'm not going to go screaming about every single one. But, really.

    BTW, Who's jimjag?


    If you can't figure out how to mail me, don't.
    --
    For linux tips: http://www.linuxtipsblog.com
  4. a pre-FAQ FAQ by zyqqh · · Score: 5
    To answer some questions I see coming:

    1. No, it's not "red." The image on the page is not a visible-spectrum photograph; it's most likely false-color from the lower end of the X-ray spectrum
    2. Yes, this is significant, since it basically allows us to see 13 billion years back in time. That's about 3/4 of the way to the beginning of the universe by current estimates (which are, on the average, circa 16-18 billion).
    3. Yes, there most likely are structures that are "further" (or, equivalently, older) than this one, but probably not by far. The high energy during the first 1-2 billion years would have most likely prevented the formation of large structures. The first proto-stars are thought to have appeared at circa 2B-3B years from Da Bang.
    4. No, Elvis is not there. Neither is LinuxOne's innovative and brilliant release that will soon change the world.
    --
    // zyqqh