Astronomers say they have spotted the oldest and most distant object ever seen from earth.

Using the NASA Swift satellite they saw a burst of energy from a dying star over 13.1 billion light years away.

Than means the 10 second event - catchily dubbed GRB 090423 - happened when the universe was only 630 million years old, less than five percent its present age.

NASA astrophysicist Neil Gehrels  said: "The incredible distance to this burst exceeded our greatest expectations, it was a true blast from the past."

Yeah, we think he had been waiting a few years to use that line too.