I don't know about you, but each time I read this kind of news my head spins. Scientists have detected a gamma ray burst that dates back 13 billion years, 95 percent back to the beginning of time. That makes it the oldest thing ever seen. Astronomer Edo Berger was blown away by the information.
The star which exploded was 30 to 100 times larger than our own sun, and when it died, it gave off "about million times the amount of energy the sun will release in its entire lifetime," Berger told CNN by phone from Harvard University, where he is an assistant professor of astronomy.
Its death throes produced so much energy that "momentarily, we can essentially see it anywhere in the universe," Berger said.
The object, known as GRB 090423, is about 200 million years older than the previous record-holder for oldest object ever seen.
Berger isn't just interested in the record books, though -- the gamma ray burst extended the frontiers of human knowledge about the history of the universe.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by scbr.
R.I.P.B!
Seriously, if you want an explanation of how we know it's so far away, I'd be happy to explain it. It's actually pretty straight forward though certainly unexpected.