Ancient City of Galaxies Looks Surprisingly Modern By Adam
Hadhazy Astronomers are a bit like archeologists as they dig
back through space and time searching for remnants of the early
universe. In a recent deep excavation, courtesy of NASA's
Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have unearthed what may be
the most distant, primitive cluster of galaxies ever found. In a
twist, however, this apparent ancestor to today's "big cities"
of grouped galaxies looks shockingly modern. Called CLG
J02182-05102, the ancient cluster is dominated by old, red and
massive galaxies, typical of present-day clusters. For example,
it is similar to a young version of the Coma Cluster of today,
which has had billions of more years to develop. "We are seeing
something already aged and red like a younger version of the
Coma Cluster from a distant, bygone era," said Casey Papovich,
lead author of a new study and an assistant professor of physics
and astronomy at Texas A&M University in College Station.
Papovich added that, "it is like