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Most Distant Object Yet Detected, Bagged By Galileo Scope

Posted by Soulskill on from the long-time-ago-in-a-galaxy-far,-far-away dept.

An anonymous reader writes "It's fitting, in this 400th anniversary of the astronomical telescope, that the Telescopio Nationale Galileo (TNG) in the Canary Islands would be used to uncover the most distant object ever seen by mankind. The gamma-ray burst from April 23, a powerful explosion from a dying star, was detected by the Swift satellite using on-board gamma-ray and X-ray instruments. A flurry of activity led to the remarkable discovery that the event occurred roughly 630 million years after the Big Bang. This makes GRB 090423 the most distant known event!"

3 of 101 comments (clear)

  1. It's natural by UnixUnix · · Score: 5, Funny

    After the Big Bang... comes the Big Cigarette.

  2. Slashdot is late again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    This happened billions of years ago, and Slashdot is just reporting it now?

  3. Re:Telescopio Nazionale Galileo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Did you really have to Godwin the thread so early?