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NASA sees new type of galaxy cluster

The Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes captured a galaxy cluster that is 11.1 billion light years away from Earth. NASA/Chandra X-ray Observatory

A telescope in space operated from Cambridge has helped to discover a new group of galaxies located a record 11.1 billion light years away from earth, NASA announced.

The Chandra X-ray Observatory was one of several orbiting telescopes that helped to detect the galaxy cluster right after its birth, something that has never before been seen, NASA said in a statement issued Wednesday.

Megan Watzke, a spokeswoman for the Chandra x-ray Center, said the galaxy cluster appears to have been discovered at an unusual stage.

“There are more stars forming in the middle than we would usually see,” Watzke said in a telephone interview. “It might be part of an interesting stage because the older, more mature galaxy clusters don’t see as much star development.”

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Galaxy clusters are usually found in one of two stages, Watzke said. The first phase, called a protocluster, occurs just before the galaxies have come together. A mature cluster occurs when the galaxies are more developed and held together by gravity, she said.

The newest galaxy cluster appears to have been found in an “in between phase,” she said.

Watzke said it’s important for scientists to see this new phase of development in order to understand the clusters.

“The Milky Way is part of a galaxy cluster so we want to understand how these clusters grow and develop,” Watzke said.

The Chandra X-ray Center is part of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, which controls the telescope’s flight operations.

Olivia Quintana

Olivia Quintana can be reached at olivia.quintana@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @oliviasquintana.