"We have discovered a galaxy that has been 'perfectly preserved' for billions of years, a true archaeological find that tells us how the first galaxies were born and helps us understand how the universe has evolved to this day."

Astronomers have discovered a distant galaxy that is a “cosmic fossil” which has remained “frozen in time” for billions of years.

Just as dinosaur fossils here on Earth are used to probe the evolution of life, this cosmic fossil in the form of the galaxy KiDS J0842+0059 could be used to understand cosmic evolution.

A cosmic fossil is a galaxy that has managed to remain unchanged by collisions and interactions with other galaxies. That means they can act as pristine time capsules to help astronomers study earlier galaxies.