Hubble's Extreme Deep Field (stars, light, universe, telescope)

[NightBazaar]

First there was the Deep Field, then there was the Ultra Deep Field. Now there's the eXtreme Deep Field (XDF). The XDF combines 10 years of the Hubble Space telescope's images of a small patch of sky giving us a look at objects that are ten-billionth the brightness of what the human eye can see. That's pretty dim. It provides a look 13.2 billion years at the universe's past. Hubble really has been quite a remarkable instrument.

Hubble telescope reveals farthest view of universe - Technology & science - Space - Space.com | NBC News





Hubble's Extreme Deep Field Sees Farther Back In Time | Video - YouTube

[Baldrick]

Originally Posted by NightBazaar

First there was the Deep Field, then there was the Ultra Deep Field. Now there's the eXtreme Deep Field (XDF). The XDF combines 10 years of the Hubble Space telescope's images of a small patch of sky giving us a look at objects that are ten-billionth the brightness of what the human eye can see. That's pretty dim. It provides a look 13.2 billion years at the universe's past. Hubble really has been quite a remarkable instrument.

Hubble telescope reveals farthest view of universe - Technology & science - Space - Space.com | NBC News

Hubble's Extreme Deep Field Sees Farther Back In Time | Video - YouTube

Here's an accompanying article: BBC News - Hubble captures extraordinary view of Universe

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has produced one of its most extraordinary views of the Universe to date. Called the eXtreme Deep Field, the picture captures a mass of galaxies stretching back almost to the time when the first stars began to shine.
But this was no simple point and snap - some of the objects in this image are too distant and too faint for that.
Rather, this view required Hubble to stare at a tiny patch of sky for more than 500 hours to detect all the light.

[NightBazaar]

Originally Posted by Baldrick

Here's an accompanying article: BBC News - Hubble captures extraordinary view of Universe

Thanks for the link Baldrick. The total exposure time is equal to almost three full weeks of exposure. The previous video summed it up pretty well. That small patch of sky adds to our appreciation of just how mind-bogglingly populated the universe is, as well as a better idea of how early objects were populating the universe. The James Webb next generation of space telescopes will provide even more views with greater detail, but the Hubble has served well in providing us with views never before seen or imagined by looking at patches of sky which appeared to be empty. It was a rather daring thing to do. Had the exposures turned out to show nothing, it could've been considered a waste of time. Instead, we find more and more galaxies that are farther away in both time and space and helps give a better understanding of what the universe looked like very early in its history.

[Glitch]

I am not buying it. Hubble cannot see any object in the visible spectrum that is 13.2 billion light years away. Hubble used the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH) program in conjunction with Spitzer used gravitational lensing to "see" a galaxy in infra-red. They estimated its distance at redshift z~9.6 (13.2 billion light years distant), which is problematic in itself. Hubble was unable to see the galaxy directly. They also did not use a type 1a supernova in the galaxy as a "standard candle," relying solely on redshift to determine distance.

While it is a very nice image of the distribution of galaxies, it no way comes close to being 13.2 billion light years distant.