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Name: Kelly B.
Status: other
Grade: other
Location: NV
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
What is the farthest object from the earth that has ever been detected? What is that distance of that object?

Replies:
Dear Kelly.,

The farthest object I have seen through my telescope is the double quasar Q0957+56 in Ursa Major. It is about 8.5 billion light years and is visible to us because it is gravitationally lensed by an intervening galaxy.

I believe the farthest galaxy was imaged by Richard Ellis, and it is about half a billion years younger than the big bang. If the big bang was 13.7 billion years ago, then the Ellis find is about 13 billion years. But that is somewhat uncertain.

David H. Levy


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