SPT0418–47 – The Ancient Galaxy So Normal, It’s Weird - Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion September 9, 2020

An ancient galaxy looks normal - entirely TOO normal - that's weird!

The galaxy SPT0418–47, formed in the ancient Universe, looks entirely normal — and that’s what’s so strange about it.

The galaxy SPT0418-47 is seen from Earth as a ring, due to a strange effect called gravitational lensing.

An ancient galaxy called SPT0418–47 has been found near the edge of the observable Universe. This family of stars looks much like the Milky Way — and that is what makes this discovery so surprising — galaxies from the early Universe are supposed to look different than they do today.

Formed just 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang, light from this far-flung galaxy took 12 billion years to reach Earth. This body was discovered in 2020 by astronomers at the South Pole Telescope (SPT).

Read more: https://thecosmiccompanion.net/spt0418-47