Our telescopes are peering further and further into the the Universe and very recently astronomers have hit a distance milestone.

The Very Large Baseline Array can produce images hundreds of times more detailed than the famous Hubble Telescope. Imagining sitting and Los Angeles and being able to read a newspaper in New York is akin to the power of the VLBA. The numbers are astounding; the VLBA can produce an image 450 million light years away.

This should help astronomers measure the distances of celestial bodies and in the long run aid i the pursuits of mapping the Milky Way. This is one of several useful perks of the VLBA, others include the search for extrasolar planets and piecing together the ominous puzzle that is dark matter.
Every day more and more is being learned about the outer reaches of space and it's something to get excited about. Here's the link:
http://www.universetoday.com/83420/continent-wide-telescope-array-now-seeing-450-million-light-years-into-space/