Number 260 (Story #1), February 27, 1996 by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein FAR AWAY AND LONG AGO: PRIMEVAL GALAXIES may have been found. Charles Steidel at Caltech and his colleagues have studied a selection of galaxies (at redshifts of about 3.5) and conclude that they are the most distant "normal" galaxies yet observed and, furthermore, that they these galaxies are quite youthful---i.e., they are full of young stars---and could properly be considered as ancestors of the elliptical and spiral galaxies we see inhabiting the cosmos in later eras. (Certain atypical radio-loud galaxies, probably associated with quasars, have been spotted at higher redshifts.) The new findings help to establish the idea that galaxy formation was well underway at relatively early times, when the universe was only about 15% of its present age. Just as important is Steidel's development of a systematic method for finding distant, young galaxies. Until now it had been difficult to locate such objects since the characteristic ultraviolet light coming from hot new stars is so easily scattered by even trace amounts of dust, in the galaxy itself or in the vast tracts of space between them and us. Steidel took this into account by setting up special color criteria and using filters to search for dim galaxies that shone at green and red but not UV wavelengths. Candidate galaxies that met his criteria, including some from the recently announced Hubble Deep Field survey (Update 255), were then viewed through the Keck telescope in order to acquire redshifts. This verified that many of the objects were quite distant. (Science News, 24 Feb. 1996; also article submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letters.)