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Posted: Tuesday, June 12th, 2012 8:41 AM HST

Scientists from Japan discover galaxy far away

By Ken Hupp - 67AM KPUA News

A scientific team using telescopes atop Mauna Kea has found the oldest, most distant galaxy yet detected — about 12.9 billion light-years away. The galaxy, called SXDF-NB1006-2, was detected by a team of astronomers from Japan using the Subaru and Keck telescopes. Masanori Iye of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan said that there are a lot of new questions arising from the current discovery.. He said astronomers plan to explore the structure of the newly discovered galaxy for clues to the early universe. Scientists also hope to find more distant galaxies to learn how the early cosmos developed.