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New Universe map
Why is it in news?
- A new map of the night sky published charts hundreds of thousands of previously unknown galaxies discovered using a telescope that can detect light sources optical instruments cannot see.
- The international team behind the unprecedented space survey said their discovery literally shed new light on some of the Universe’s deepest secrets, including the physics of black holes and how clusters of galaxies evolve.
More in news
- Project participants: More than 200 astronomers from 18 countries were involved in the study.
- LOFAR telescope: The LOFAR telescope is made up of a network of radio antenna across seven countries, forming the equivalent of a 1,300-km diameter satellite dish.
- Technology used:(1) It used radio astronomy with Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope to look at a segment of sky over the northern hemisphere.(2) It picks up traces or “jets” of ancient radiation produced when galaxies merge.(3) These jets, previously undetected, can extend over millions of light years.
- LOFAR observations: The map created by the LOFAR observations contains data equivalent to the capacity of ten million DVDs yet charts just two percent of the sky.
- Radio astronomy: It allows scientists to detect radiation produced when massive celestial objects interact.
- How it will help?: The discovery of the new light sources may also help scientists better understand the behaviour of one of space’s most enigmatic phenomena.
Source
The Hindu