Unprecedented galaxies detected by Magellanic Cloud radio waves

Scientists have captured the most visible radio image of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a Milky Way satellite galaxy 158,000 light years from Earth, RT reported.

The image revealed thousands of previously unseen radio sources, including galaxies.

Radio sources are various cosmic bodies in the universe that emit large amounts of radio waves and can include nebulae and stars, as well as galaxies.

The research, led by Keele University in the UK, used the Australian Array Pathfinder Telescope (ASKAP) to “imagine” the Large Magellanic Cloud at radio wavelengths, allowing scientists to measure nearby stars and distant galaxies.

Most radio sources come from millions of galaxies and billions of light years beyond the Large Magellanic Cloud, senior author Clara Pinnock of Keele University said in a statement.

“We usually see them because of the supermassive black holes in their centers which can be detected at all wavelengths, especially radio,” Pinnock continued. “But now we are also starting to find many galaxies where stars are forming at an exponential rate. Data from previous observations from x-ray telescopes. Optics and infrared will allow us to explore these galaxies in detail. extraordinary. “

The Large Magellanic Cloud is one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way. The first recorded mention of the Large Magellanic Cloud was made by the Persian astronomer Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, in his book on fixed stars around 964 AD.

In addition to capturing the cloud’s most precise radio images, scientists were able to dig deeper into the Tarantula Nebula, the most active star-forming region in the local group.

The Tarantula Nebula is a huge ionized region of hydrogen made up of a cloud of interstellar gas, illuminated from within by hot young stars that ionize the gas surrounding it, according to Britannica.

The nebula is located approximately 160,000 light years from Earth and is found in the constellation Dorado (dolphins) in the southernmost sky.

Dr Jaco van Loon of Keele University said in a statement: “With so many stars and nebulae clustered together, the sharpness of the image was instrumental in the discovery of radio-emitting stars and nebulae embedded in the Large Magellanic Cloud We see all kinds of radio sources, from baby stars to nebulae. Planetarity that results from the death of stars such as the Sun.

The study is part of the Early Science Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) project, which will monitor the entire southern sky and is expected to discover around 40 million galaxies.

This data will give researchers a clearer picture of how galaxies and their stars have evolved over time and, hopefully, reveal the secrets of the early universe.