List of the most distant astronomical objects

This article lists the most distant astronomical objects discovered and verified so far, along with the time periods when they were recognized as such. These objects give us clues about the early universe and how it has changed over time.

The age of the universe is currently estimated to be about 13.787 billion years, but this number has changed as scientists have improved their methods of observation. For example, when the object IOK-1 was found in 2006, the estimated age of the universe was 13.66 billion years.

Measuring the distance to very far objects is tricky because they are usually very faint. Scientists often use a method called measuring the cosmological redshift of the object’s light. This means looking at how much the light from these objects has stretched to longer wavelengths. There are two ways to do this: using spectroscopy, which is more exact, and using a photometric redshift technique, which can sometimes be less accurate. Only objects with distances measured using spectroscopy are considered to have definitely known distances. The table in this article shows both types of measurements.

Most distant spectroscopically-confirmed objects

The universe is very old, and scientists have discovered objects that are very far away from us. These objects are some of the oldest things we know of, and they help us learn about how the universe began and grew. The age of the universe is estimated to be about 13.8 billion years old, but this number has changed as scientists have learned new things.

Most distant astronomical objects with spectroscopic redshift determinations

Image	Name	Redshift (z)	Years after the Big Bang (millions)	Type
	MoM-z14	z = 14.44+0.02 −0.02	280	Galaxy
	JADES-GS-z14-0	z = 14.1796+0.0007 −0.0007	290	Galaxy
	JADES-GS-z14-1	z = 13.90+0.17 −0.17	300	Galaxy
	PAN-z14-1	z = 13.53+0.05 −0.06	310	Galaxy
	JADES-GS-z13-0	z = 13.20+0.04 −0.07	330	Galaxy
	UNCOVER-z13	z = 13.079+0.014 −0.001	330	Galaxy
	JADES-GS-z13-1	z = 13.0	330	Galaxy
	JADES-GS-z12-0	z = 12.63+0.24 −0.08	350	Galaxy
	UNCOVER-z12	z = 12.393+0.004 −0.001	350	Galaxy
	GLASS-z12 (GHZ2)	z = 12.3327+0.0035 −0.0035	367	Galaxy
	UDFj-39546284	z = 11.58+0.05 −0.05	380	Galaxy
	CEERS J141946.36+525632.8 (Maisie's Galaxy)	z = 11.44+0.09 −0.08	390	Galaxy
	CEERS2-588	z = 11.04	410	Galaxy
	GN-z11	z = 10.6034 ± 0.0013	430	Galaxy
	JADES-GS-z10-0 (UDFj-38116243)	z = 10.38+0.07 −0.06	450	Galaxy
	JD1	z = 9.793±0.002	480	Galaxy
	Gz9p3	z = 9.3127 ± 0.0002	510	Galaxy
	MACS1149-JD1	z = 9.1096±0.0006	500	Galaxy
	EGSY8p7 (CEERS_1019)	z = 8.683+0.001 −0.004	570	Galaxy
	SMACS-4590	z = 8.496		Galaxy
	A2744 YD4	z = 8.38	600	Galaxy
	MACS0416 Y1	z = 8.3118±0.0003	600	Galaxy
	GRB 090423	z = 8.23+0.06 −0.07	630	Gamma-ray burst
	RXJ2129-11002	z = 8.16±0.01	613	Galaxy
	RXJ2129-11022	z = 8.15±0.01		Galaxy
	EGS-zs8-1	z = 7.7302±0.0006	670	Galaxy
	SMACS-0723-6355	z = 7.665		Galaxy
	z7_GSD_3811	z = 7.6637±0.0011		Galaxy
	SMACS-0723-10612	z = 7.658		Galaxy
	QSO J0313–1806	z = 7.6423±0.0013	670	Quasar
	ULAS J1342+0928	z = 7.5413±0.0007	690	Quasar
	z8_GND_5296	z = 7.51	700	Galaxy
	A1689-zD1	z = 7.5±0.2	700	Galaxy
	GS2_1406	z = 7.452±0.003		Galaxy
	GN-108036	z = 7.213	750	Galaxy
	SXDF-NB1006-2	z = 7.2120±0.0003	800	Galaxy
	BDF-3299	z = 7.109±0.002	800	Galaxy
	ULAS J1120+0641	z = 7.085±0.003	770	Quasar
	A1703 zD6	z = 7.045±0.004		Galaxy
	BDF-521	z = 7.008±0.002		Galaxy
	IOK-1	z = 6.965	780	Galaxy
	GDS_1408 (G2_1408)	z = 6.82±0.1		Galaxy

Candidate most distant objects

Since the James Webb Space Telescope began its science work in June 2022, many faraway galaxies have been found. These galaxies are much farther than what the Hubble Space Telescope could see. The JWST can see deep into the infrared, which helps scientists spot these distant objects.

Before 2022, around 2012, there were about 50 possible objects that were very far away, and about 100 more candidates. Some of these objects have been studied closely, but only one light signal was found, so they are still considered possible candidates by scientists.

This list changes over time and may never be fully complete. You can help by updating the page with information from trusted sources.

List of most distant objects by type

This section lists the farthest objects we have found in space, grouped by their type.

Timeline of most distant astronomical object recordholders

Objects on this list were the farthest known objects when scientists first measured how far away they were. This measurement date is often different from when the object was first found.

Scientists can figure out how far away stars and galaxies are by using special tools. They might look at how the object’s light changes over time, or they measure how much the light from the object has stretched out, called redshift. Redshift is shown with the symbol z.