Light from the galaxy PAN-z14-1 began its journey when the universe was 400 million years old — a cosmic infancy. The expansion of space made it travel to us for nearly 13.5 billion years.
A galaxy is like a city where no new houses are being built. Stars are no longer born there, and the old buildings tell you when construction was bustling. Astronomers peered into 14 such 'ghost towns' on the edge of the visible universe: their light has been traveling to us for 11–12 billion years.