A1689-zD1

A1689-zD1
Observation data
Constellation	Virgo
Right ascension	13^h 11^m 29.9^s
Declination	−01° 19′ 19″
Redshift	7.6
Distance	13 billion light-years (light travel distance)
Group or cluster	Abell 1689
Characteristics
Mass	1.7×10^9 M☉
Other designations
BBF2008 A1689-zD1

A1689-zD1 was a candidate for the most distant and therefore earliest observed galaxy discovered as of February 2008, based on a photometric redshift.^[1][2]

If the redshift, z~7.6,^[3] is correct, it would explain why the galaxy's faint light reaches us at infrared wavelengths. It could only be observed with Hubble Space Telescope's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) and the Spitzer Space Telescope's Infrared Array Camera exploiting the natural phenomenon of gravitational lensing: the galaxy cluster Abell 1689, which lies between Earth and A1689-zD1, at a distance of 2.2 billion light-years from us, functions as a natural "magnifying glass" for the light from the far more distant galaxy which lies directly behind it, at 700 million years after the Big Bang, as seen from Earth.^[1]

See also

• IOK-1
• UDFy-38135539
• List of the most distant astronomical objects

References

1. "Astronomers Eye Ultra-Young, Bright Galaxy in Early Universe". nasa.gov. 2008-02-12. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
2. "Astronomers Uncover One of the Youngest and Brightest Galaxies in the Early Universe". Space Telescope Science Institute Baltimore, Md. / nasa.gov. 2008-02-12. Archived from the original on 17 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
3. "heic0805: Hubble finds strong contender for galaxy distance record". ESA/Hubble. 2008-02-12. Archived from the original on 8 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-04.