International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
Color composite-image of IMS J2204+0111
Color composite-image of IMS J2204+0111 at z=6 (about 1 billion years after the Big Bang). IMS J2204+0111 is the red object at the center and its distance from us is 12.8 billion light years. Because of the expansion of the universe, distant objects like IMS J2204+0111 move away from us almost at the speed of the light, making their light to shift into near-infrared wavelength (phenomenon, called “redshift”). This makes them look very red in comparison to other objects, and this special color feature enabled the team to identify distant quasar candidates.
