A galáxia mais antiga | The oldest galaxy

Uma equipe de astrônomos japoneses usando telescópios no Havaí disse ter visto a galáxia mais antiga do universo.

A equipe calcula que a galáxia se formou há 12,91 bihões de anos-luz, e sua pesquisa será publicada no Astrophysical Journal. Os cientistas do Observatório Astronômico Nacional do  Japão usaram os telescópios Subaru e Keck, no cume de Mauna Kea. 

Um ano-luz é a distância que a luz percorre em um ano, quase 10 trilhões de quilômetros. Observar galáxias distantes é como ver o passado.

A team of Japanese astronomers using telescopes on Hawaii say they've seen the oldest galaxy, a discovery that's competing with other "earliest galaxy" claims.

The Japanese team calculates its galaxy was formed 12.91 billion light-years ago, and their research will be published in the Astrophysical Journal. The scientists with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan used the Subaru and Keck telescopes on the summit of Mauna Kea. 

A light-year is the distance that light travels in a year, about 6 trillion miles. Seeing distant galaxies is akin to looking back into time.

Richard Ellis of the California Institute of Technology, an influential expert in cosmology and galaxy formation, said the latest work as more convincing than some other galaxy discoveries.

He said the Japanese claim is more "watertight," using methods that everyone can agree on. But he said it's not much of a change from a similar finding by the same team last year.

Still, "it's the most distant bullet-proof one that everybody believes," Mr Ellis said.