Objects That Are Red Shifted

This simply states that the universe at the time of observation is 1 -I- z times bigger than the universe was at the time the light was emitted. Since most galaxies are intrinsically red to begin with, very distant galaxies have most of their radiation in the infrared region due to the redshift. This makes the infrared spectral region very critical in the study of the early universe. 

FIGURE 3 The near infrared view of part of the Northern Hubble Deep Field. 

Observations of distant objects at infrared wavelengths has been deemed so important that NASA s largest future project is dedicated to that mission. It is called the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) and is scheduled to be launched before 2010. A description of the current status of NGST is given in section IX.B. 

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