Page "Galaxy" Paragraph 63

Evidence for the early appearance of galaxies was found in 2006, when it was discovered that the galaxy IOK-1 has an unusually high redshift of 6. 96, corresponding to just 750 million years after the Big Bang and making it the most distant and primordial galaxy yet seen.

While some scientists have claimed other objects ( such as Abell 1835 IR1916 ) have higher redshifts ( and therefore are seen in an earlier stage of the Universe's evolution ), IOK-1's age and composition have been more reliably established.

The existence of such early protogalaxies suggests that they must have grown in the so-called " Dark Ages ".