LBG-2377
LBG-2377 is the most distant galaxy merger discovered, as of 2008, 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.
| LBG-2377 | |
|---|---|
| Observation data | |
| Constellation | Hercules |
| Right ascension | 16h 44m 48.3s |
| Declination | +46° 27′ 08.2″ |
| Redshift | 3.035 |
| Distance | 11.4 Gly |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 22.6 |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | Galaxy merger |
| Other designations | |
| PC 1643+4631A-2377 | |
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.
References
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