The universe is a big place.
Let's rephrase that. The universe is a gargantuan place. At this moment in time, astronomers believe that it measures some 93 billion light-years across.
When we look out across space, though, we're not just looking through distance. We're looking back in time. All of the light we see here on Earth is from the past, so observing something a billion light-years away means we see it as it existed a billion years ago.
Since astronomers estimate the age of the universe at 13.8 billion years, all we have to be able to do is see something 13.8 billion light-years away, and we can see the beginning of time. The beginning of the universe. The beginning of everything we know.
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And we're almost there. Just this month, researchers officially announced the discovery of the most distant galaxy we've ever seen, from over 13 billion light-years away: EGS-zs8-1, located in the constellation of Boötes. Data about EGS-zs8-1 from the W.M Keck Observatory in Hawaii revealed some interesting clues about galaxy formation in the early universe; but the farther we can see, the more we will know.
Cue the Giant Magellan Telescope -- an Earth-based telescope planned for first light in 2021, located in Chile's Las Campanas Observatory. What will make the Giant Magellan Telescope so spectacular is its size: its reflectors will consist of an array of seven mirrors 8.4 metres in diameter each (27 feet), resulting in a single reflective surface 24.5 metres (80 feet) across. Its total collecting area will be 368 square metres.
This will give the GMT the biggest reflecting surface ever created -- over four times the size of the world's current biggest single-aperture optical telescope, the Gran Telescopio Canarias.
"The Giant Magellan Telescope will enable us to look back through time to see the birth of stars, galaxies, and events that occurred shortly after the Big Bang. Through this we will achieve a better understanding of our origins," explained Dr Patrick McCarthy, director of the Giant Magellan Telescope.
"One of the most interesting unresolved questions about our universe that we hope to answer is: are we truly alone?" Dr McCarthy said. "The GMT will enable us to identify potentially habitable planets and to characterise the chemical composition of their atmospheres. This could lead to detection of biomarkers."
But, he added, the beginning of everything -- that will be the most wonderful discovery.
"The prospect that most excites me is looking at the most distant objects in the universe to a time when galaxies were young and still forming and acquiring their distinctive spiral shapes that we see today. To see the 'first light' in the Universe would be a profound experience."
The entire article is here.
