LBG-2377
| LBG-2377 | |
|---|---|
| Observation data | |
| Constellation | hercules |
| Redshift | 3.035 |
| Distance | 11.4 Gly |
| Type | galaxy merger |
LBG-2377 is the most distant galaxy merger ever discovered, at a distance of 11.4 billion light years.[1] This galaxy merger is so distant that the universe was in its infancy when its light was emitted. It is expected that this galaxy proto-cluster will merge to form a brightest cluster galaxy, and become the core of a larger galaxy cluster.
Discovery
Observations were conducted with the Keck Telescope in Hawaii by Jeff Cooke, a McCue Postdoctoral Fellow in physics and astronomy at UCI. While looking for single galaxies, Cooke found something that at first appeared like a bright, single object. However, further analysis of wavelengths of the emitted light proved that they were three galaxies merging, and likely two smaller galaxies.