Astronomers spot 13.12 billion years old galaxy

A galaxy 13.12 billion light-years from Earth is the most distant object yet detected, a new study says.

Astronomers spotted a faint glimmer of infrared light from this primitive galaxy, called UDFy-38135539, using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile.

Because of the time it takes for the distant galaxy's light to reach Earth, the recently captured signal is thought to have been emitted when the universe was only 600 million years old. That means the find can help scientists better understand the so-called era of reinonization, the study authors say.