This simple observation showed us that the universe is far larger than was previously thought. It is now estimated that there are at least 50 billion galaxies within the reach of the best telescopes, each galaxy containing tens of billion or trillions of stars. This means that there are roughly as many galaxies within the reach of our telescopes as there are snowflakes in a typical snowstorm. It's startling to think of the stars grouped in these islands scattered through the universe. To answer these questions we need to study extremely faint and distant examples.
Astronomers already know that the early history of the universe was very dynamic.
Quasars blazed, gamma ray bursters released enormous flashes of radiation, and galaxy collisions were common. The capability of the Gemini telescopes to see details in distant objects will allow them to probe the structure of galaxies as they assumed their shapes. The near infrared and ultraviolet capabilities of the telescopes will allow them to work in important regions of the spectrum.