TIME

First Galaxies

Within the first few hundred million years after the Big Bang

Artist’s impression of a young, clumpy galaxy seen edge-on against black space, a ragged band of red, orange, and blue dust and glowing stars.

Cosmic TimeFirst Galaxies

The earliest galaxies take shape.

Stars and gas gathered into the first galaxies, the building blocks of the vast structures that grew over billions of years.

The most distant galaxy confirmed so far, JADES-GS-z14-0, is seen less than 300 million years after the Big Bang. Earlier ones may exist.

Within the first few hundred million years after the Big Bang, placed on the scale of its era on a line leading toward now.

Era
Cosmic Time
Period
Within the first few hundred million years after the Big Bang
Edition
1/1
Status
Not Released
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Background artwork

Cinematic background showing early galaxies strung along filaments of the cosmic web. An illustration generated with an AI image tool for TIME. It is an artistic depiction, not a photograph or a record of the moment.