Tiny (but ultra bright) quartet of ancient galaxies takes astronomers by surprise

Combining the power of two major NASA space telescopes, Yale astronomer Pascal Oesch and his collaborators have found four young, exceptionally bright galaxies rich in emerging stars at a time when the universe was only 500 million years old.  The tiny galaxies — captured early in the universe’s formation — are about 10 to 20 times more luminous than anything previously seen and about one-twentieth the size of the Milky Way, Earth’s more mature home galaxy.