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Astronomers Find Most Distant Protocluster of Galaxies

Posted by Soulskill on from the since-before-your-sun-burned-hot-in-space dept.

The Bad Astronomer writes "Using the monster 8.2-meter Subaru telescope, astronomers have identified the most distant cluster of galaxies ever found: a collection of galaxies at a staggering distance of 12.7 billion light years. This is the most distant cluster ever seen that has been confirmed spectroscopically (PDF). Technically, it's a protocluster, since it's so young — seen only a billion years after the Big Bang itself — the cluster must still be in the process of formation."

2 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Well, that's where it was... by NEDHead · · Score: 4, Informative

    Wrong on several counts. What the 12.7 refers to is when the light left the cluster in question (in billions of years). At the time the light left the cluster it was actually much closer to us than 12.7 light years. The observable universe is actually larger in light years than the time since the Big Bang, due to the expansion of space. This expansion also stretched the travel time for the cluster's light to reach us. Now the cluster (to the extent 'Now' has any meaning) may be 25+ light years away (I apologize for the imprecision, as I don't have the exact figures at hand).

  2. Re:Well, that's where it was... by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Informative

    Short answer: yes. For anything traveling at luminal speeds, time is not perceived. If you were a photon, it might take you 12.7 billion years to get here, but for you it is an instant.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.