... Additional Image Data: Ken Crawford ( Rancho Del Sol Observatory ) Explanation: Spiky stars are nearby , but fuzzy galaxies are strewn far across the Universe in this cosmic view . Spanning about 1/2 degree on the sky, the pretty picture is the result of astronomer Johannes Schedler's project to look back in time, toward a quasar 12.7 billion light-years away . ... The quasar appears as it did about 12.7 billion years ago, when the Universe was just 7 percent of its present age . ...