Astronomer Wei Zheng from Johns Hopkins University (USA) and his colleagues, using telescopes to space-based Hubble and Spitzer", found very likely (12-s, that is higher than the probability of discovery of the Higgs boson) candidate in the galaxy, whose age does not exceed 475-505 million years after the Big Bang.

Galaxy looks fully formed - hence its appearance should be attributed to an even earlier date. Its red shift is defined in z = 9,6 ± 0.2, which corresponds to 490 ± 15 million years after the Big Bang, or 3.6% from the history of our Universe (by accepting this as 100%).

Usually discover a galaxy, far too remote from the Earth, is a real problem, because from it to us physically comes too few photons. However, astronomers lucky: exploring all 12 of galactic clusters early Universe (high redshift), they found one galaxy, the light which had been the strongest gravitational lensing is the strengthening of the gravity of some large object between her and us.

Galactic cluster, which was seen candidate, called MACS J1149+2223, and the galaxy was named MACS1149-JD1. Most likely, this is not the milky Way: then, in less than half a billion years after the Big Bang, spiral galaxies like ours was not. Form (yet installed very approximately) it resembles wrong elliptical galaxy; moreover, it is quite compact - not more than several thousand years in any direction. What is particularly interesting, due to gravitational lensing MACS1149-JD1 so bright that can be explored even by a spectroscope using space telescope James Webb". Considered to be the pioneers, this will allow a better idea of the age of the Universe reionizatsii and even, perhaps, to establish the chemical composition hypothetical stars of the first generation.

We emphasize two points: the age of the galaxy to the point of observation is about 200 million years (the probability that he is higher, equal to 5%), that is formed it after about 300 million years after the Big Bang. This is the first observed in different ranges object so early occurrence. In fact, we have before us the most ancient galaxy Universe.

In addition, the astronomers believe that if they found so old object by looking at a very small area of the sky (12 of galactic clusters), when a more thorough search of the similar methods can be found many galaxies of this kind.

A study published in the journal Nature, and its Preprint available here.

Prepared according to Ars Technica.