Quote: "Our universe is about 14 billion years old, and Spitzer has spotted galaxies sitting more than 13 billion light-years away. This means that the light from these distant galaxies started traveling toward us when the Universe was still very young, only a few hundred million years old. Because the speed of light is finite, these distant objects are observed as they appeared when the universe was much younger. By capturing this light, Spitzer provides valuable information about how and when the first objects in the Universe formed, ultimately giving us snapshots of the way things were."
Paraphrase: Using technology such as the Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists believe the universe is about 14 billion years old. Pictures of very distant galaxies actually provide images of the distant past because the light has taken so long to reach our instruments.
Citation: Distant Galaxies and the Origins of the Universe. 2008. Jet Propulsion Labratory, California Institute of Technology. 19 April 2010. <http://spitzer.caltech.edu/mission/235-Distant-Galaxies-and-Origins-of-the-Universe>.
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