Hubble View

“The Hubble Space Telescope has taken the deepest near-infrared image of the universe in history, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced on Tuesday. The image, which was taken in August by the ‘HUDF09’ team, features galaxies that formed just 600 million years after the Big Bang. NASA said that not only are those the oldest galaxies ever seen, but the data that can be extracted from the image will provide ‘insights into how galaxies grew in their formative years early in the universe’s history.’ Hubble was able to capture such detail, thanks to the Wide Field Camera 3, which was installed earlier this year. The camera captures light from ‘near-infrared wavelengths,’ allowing it to peer deeper into the galaxy than its predecessors. ‘The light from very distant galaxies is stretched out of the ultraviolet and visible regions of the spectrum into near-infrared wavelengths by the expansion of the universe,’ NASA said.”