Long Ago and Far Away: Astronomers find distant galaxy, early cluster

Peering ever deeper into space and further back in time, two teams of astronomers have uncovered new details about the earliest galaxies and galaxy clusters in the universe.

One team, aided by a cosmic magnifying glass, has detected the earliest, most distant galaxy yet known. The scientists first told Science News about the galaxy 2 years ago (SN: 5/27/00, p. 340: Newfound Galaxy Goes the Distance), and they have now published their findings in the April 1 Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The faint body dates from a time when the universe was less than 1 billion years old, notes study coauthor Esther M. Hu of the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. The detectio