LBG-2377
LBG-2377 | |
---|---|
Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Constellation | Hercules |
Right ascension | 16h 44m 48.3s[1] |
Declination | +46° 27′ 08.2″[1] |
Redshift | 3.03[1] |
Distance | 11.4 billion light-years (3.5 billion parsecs) (light travel distance) ~21.2 billion light-years (6.5 billion parsecs) (present proper distance) |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 22.6 |
Characteristics | |
Type | Galaxy merger |
Other designations | |
PC 1643+4631A-2377 |
LBG-2377 is the most distant galaxy merger discovered, as of 2008, at a distance of 11.4 billion light years.[2] This galaxy merger is so distant that the universe was in its infancy when its light was emitted. It is expected that this galaxy proto-cluster will merge to form a brightest cluster galaxy, and become the core of a larger galaxy cluster.
Discovery
Observations were conducted with the Keck Telescope in Hawaii by Jeff Cooke, a McCue Postdoctoral Fellow in physics and astronomy at UCI. While looking for single galaxies, Cooke found something that at first appeared like a bright, single object. However, further analysis of wavelengths of the emitted light proved that they were three galaxies merging, and likely two smaller galaxies.
See also
References
- ^ a b c Cooke, Jeff; Barton, Elizabeth J.; Bullock, James S.; Stewart, Kyle R.; Wolfe, Arthur M. (2008). "A Candidate Brightest Protocluster Galaxy at z = 3.03". The Astrophysical Journal. 681 (2): L57–L60. arXiv:0803.3808. Bibcode:2008ApJ...681L..57C. doi:10.1086/590406. S2CID 5899170.
- ^ ABC Science "Found! Oldest galaxy pile-up"
External links