The infant galaxy found by the astronomers is 1\/100th<\/sup> the size of the Milky Way at a time when the Universe was only 7% of its current age.<\/p>\n
Using the gravitational lens effect enabled the team to explore nature of small and dark “normal galaxies” in the early Universe, illustrative of the main population of the first galaxies, which significantly improves scientists\u2019 understanding of the early phase of galaxy evolution.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of the galaxies that existed in the early Universe were so small that their brightness is well below the limit of the current largest telescopes on Earth and in Space, making difficult to study their properties and internal structure,\u201d explained Nicolas Laporte, a Kavli Senior Fellow at the University of Cambridge. \u201cHowever, the light coming from the galaxy named RXCJ0600-z6, was highly magnified by gravitational lensing, making it an ideal target for studying the properties and structure of a typical baby galaxies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gravitational lensing is a natural phenomenon where light released from a far away object is bent by the gravity of a massive body such as a galaxy or galaxy cluster in the foreground.<\/p>\n
The ALMA Lensing Cluster Survey (ALCS) team utilised ALMA to look for a large number of galaxies in the early Universe that are enlarged by gravitational lensing. Using a combination of the power of ALMA, with the help of the natural telescopes, the researchers are now able to discover and study fainter galaxies.<\/p>\n
Studying the faintest galaxies in the early Universe is significant as dominant theories suggest that most of the galaxies formed in the first few hundred million years after the Big Bang are small, and therefore faint.<\/p>\n
While numerous galaxies in the early Universe have previously been studied, those explored were restricted to the biggest objects, and consequently the less representative galaxies, in the early Universe<\/a>, because of telescopes capabilities. Therefore, the only way to comprehend the typical formation of the earliest galaxies, and acquire a complete understanding of galaxy formation, is to focus on the fainter and more numerous galaxies.<\/p>\n
By measuring the distribution of the cluster of galaxies, it is possible to bring back the original appearance of the magnified object. Using a combination of data from Hubble Space Telescope<\/a> and the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope<\/a> with a theoretical model, the group was able to reconstruct the shape of a distant galaxy named RXCJ0600-z6.<\/p>\n