Answer to Question #11451 in Astronomy | Astrophysics for Joe Balint

Question

When the Hubble DST gazed into an area void of galaxies and found more galaxies at greater distances estimated to be 13.2 billion light years away, shouldn't those galaxies be in a tight group in one location as they must have been when their light departed their locations 13.2 billion years ago?

If the Universe is expanding wasn't it much smaller that many years ago? Or to put it differently, how far away are they now? Would doppler apply if all of the energy and matter in the universe is shrinking while the physical distances (not the relative distances) remain constant?

This seems like a conundrum to me. Can you help me understand?