Question

In a photo like the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field (the figure in your textbook), we see galaxies in many different stages of their lives. In general, which galaxies are seen in the earliest (youngest) stages of their lives?

Answer 1

The youngest galaxies observed are those with the highest redshifts in deep space images, appearing as bright, clumpy structures without regular spiral shapes, and are often seen as they were just after forming over 13 billion years ago.

Step-by-step explanation:

Galaxies seen in the earliest stages of their lives are typically the ones that are very distant from us. As we look at deeper and deeper images of the universe, like those provided by the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field, we observe faint galaxies that are seen very far back in time. In such images, galaxies with the highest redshifts are the youngest because their light has taken the longest to reach us. These distant galaxies often appear bright with clumpy star-forming regions and lack regular spiral structure, showcasing their infancy. Some of them may have formed when the universe was just a few percent of its current age, offering a glimpse into the conditions shortly after the galaxy began to form more than 13 billion years ago.