Far out doesn’t even begin to describe this discovery.
Scientists using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes have found the most distant galaxy cluster ever seen, the space agency said on Tuesday.
The not-so-elegantly named CL J1001+0220 is 11.1 billion light-years from Earth and contains 11 massive galaxies in its core.
“This galaxy cluster isn’t just remarkable for its distance, it’s also going through an amazing growth spurt unlike any we’ve ever seen,” said Tao Wang of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission.
To be specific, nine of those 11 galaxies are forming stars “at a rate that is equivalent to over 3,000 Suns forming per year,” NASA says.
Scientists described the discovery in a study published Tuesday in the Astrophysical Journal.