Astronomers have discovered an ancient galaxy that is the most distant object ever detected in the universe. A team of European scientists reported the discovery in the journal, Nature.

They measured the distance to the galaxy by analyzing its faint glow of light using the very large European Southern Observatory Telescope in Chile. The collection of stars is more than 13 billion light years away. It means its light has taken almost the whole of the life of the universe to reach the Earth.

The galaxy is important to astronomers because it dates back to a time in the early universe when radiation from primeval galaxies changed the physical state of surrounding hydrogen gas. Scientists hope the newly discovered galaxy will help them better understand the process of the universe's evolution.