"From Earth, the Triangulum galaxy (recorded 1654) is the farthest naked-eye object typically visible. Some exceptional observers claim to see Messier 81: 12 million light-years away. In 1779, Charles Messier recorded Messier 58: 68 million light-years distant. William Herschel surpassed that in 1786, revealing NGC 1 at 185 million light-years."
"In 1887, OJ 287 was photographed; its measured distance is 3.5 billion light-years. However, bright galaxies in clusters - e.g., Coma, Boötes, and Hydra - were historically recorded as more distant. Radio galaxies and quasars smashed those records beginning in the 1960s."
"Quasars held the record until 1997, when galaxies CL 1358+62 G1 & G2 took it back. The last record-holding quasar was SDSS J1030+0524, surpassed by galaxy HCM-6A in 2002. Gamma-ray burst GRB 090423, in 2009, broke IOK-1 's prior galactic distance record, reaching 30 billion light-years."
"Hubble galaxies EGSY8p7 and GN-z11 retook the record, which galaxies still hold. More recently, JWST galaxies: Mostly Mute Monday tells an astronomical story in images, visuals, and no more than 200 words. extended the record to its current value: 33.8 billion light-years."
In 1675, a statement about progress through earlier achievements framed later advances in observing the universe. From Earth, the Triangulum galaxy is described as the farthest typical naked-eye object, with Messier 81 and Messier 58 extending visibility to tens of millions of light-years. Herschel’s work pushed distances further to hundreds of millions of light-years. Photographs of OJ 287 placed it billions of light-years away. Bright galaxies in clusters were once cataloged as farther, but radio galaxies and quasars surpassed those limits starting in the 1960s. Quasars held the record until 1997, when galaxies CL 1358+62 G1 and G2 took it back. The record later shifted again to HCM-6A in 2002, then to gamma-ray burst GRB 090423 reaching 30 billion light-years. Hubble galaxies EGSY8p7 and GN-z11 later retook the record, and JWST observations extended it to 33.8 billion light-years.
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