All teams independently identified the source to likely be an extremely distant galaxy because there was no measurable light at visible wavelengths (caused by absorption of hydrogen gas along the line of sight).

[4] However, attempts to replicate this observation strongly suggest the original claim was in error, meaning that at the present time the galaxy only has a photometric redshift estimate.

This was attempted using the European Southern Observatory's SINFONI-equipped Very Large Telescope unit Yepun, located atop Cerro Paranal in Chile's Atacama Desert.

[13] Michele Trenti, an astronomer who was not involved in the study but provided commentary published with the report, says that the discovery of the distant galaxy represents a "fundamental leap forward in observational cosmology.

[19] Trenti says that new "most distant" record holders will soon be announced, but only incremental distance gains will be realized until NASA's James Webb Space Telescope becomes operational, which occurred in 2022.

Bremer states that it, and eventually the European Extremely Large Telescope, which will have a mirror five times the diameter of Yepun's,[10] and is tentatively scheduled for first light in 2024, will enable more detailed study of galaxies at such great distances.