A radio signal 9 billion light-years from Earth has been captured in a record-breaking recording, Space.com reported Friday.
The signal was detected by a unique wavelength known as the “21-centimeter line” or “hydrogen line,” which is reportedly emitted by neutral hydrogen atoms.
The signal picked up by the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope in India could mean scientists can begin to probe the formation of some of the earliest stars and galaxies, the report said.
Scientists involved in the GMRT upgrade project.
HOW TO WATCH THE ‘GREEN COMET’ AS IT COMES CLOSEST IN 50,000 YEARS
The researchers detected the signal from a “star-forming galaxy” titled SDSSJ0826+5630, which was emitted when the 13.8-billion-year-old Milky Way – the galaxy in which Earth is located – was only 4.9 billion years old.
“This is equivalent to looking back in time 8.8 billion years,” lead author and postdoctoral cosmologist Arnab Chakraborty of McGill University’s Department of Physics said in a statement this week.
A view of the Milky Way from an area of the Puyehue National Park near the town of Osorno, Chile, May 8, 2008.
READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP
MORE THAN 3 BILLION STARS AND GALAXYS CAPTURED IN MASSIVE NEW SURVEY
Galaxies are reported to emit light in a wide range of radio wavelengths. But until recently, radio waves with a wavelength of 21 cm were recorded only from nearby galaxies.
“A galaxy emits different types of radio signals. Until now, it has only been possible to pick up this particular signal from a nearby galaxy, limiting our knowledge to those galaxies closer to Earth,” said Chakraborty.
An exhibitor arranges a scale model of the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) antenna on display during the ‘Vigyan Samagam’, a multi-venue mega science exhibition, at the Visveswaraya Museum of Industry and Technology in Bangalore on July 29, 2019.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The signal allowed astronomers to measure the gas content of the galaxy and therefore find the galaxy’s mass.
This determination has led scientists to conclude that this distant galaxy is twice the mass of the stars visible from Earth, the report said.
Add Comment