Oldest Spiral Galaxy in Universe Discovered
Source: SPACE.com
Oldest Spiral Galaxy in Universe Discovered
by SPACE.com Staff
Date: 18 July 2012 Time: 01:01 PM ET
Astronomers have discovered the universe's most ancient spiral galaxy yet, a cosmic structure that dates back roughly 10.7 billion years, a new study reveals.
The galactic find, discovered by researchers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, comes as something of a surprise. Other galaxies from such early epochs are clumpy and irregular, not strikingly symmetrical like the newfound spiral, which broadly resembles our own Milky Way.
"The fact that this galaxy exists is astounding," study lead author David Law, of the University of Toronto, said in a statement. "Current wisdom holds that such ‘grand-design’ spiral galaxies simply didn’t exist at such an early time in the history of the universe."
Law and his colleagues used Hubble to snap photos and study the properties of about 300 distant galaxies. The newfound galaxy, which goes by the name BX442, was the only spiral in the bunch, researchers said.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.space.com/16641-oldest-spiral-galaxy-hubble-telescope.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
I just love galaxies, of all shapes, sizes, and ages. 
