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Deep observations made with the MUSE spectrograph on ESO 's Very Large Telescope have uncovered vast cosmic reservoirs of atomic hydrogen surrounding distant galaxies. The exquisite sensitivity of MUSE allowed for direct observations of clouds of hydrogen glowing with Lyman-alpha emission in the early Universe? -? Revealing that almost the entire night sky is invisibly aglow. Credit: ESA / Hubble & NASA, ESO / Lutz Wisotzki et al.
A study published recently in Nature has revealed the presence of a hitherto undetected component of the universe-wide masses of gas surrounding distant galaxies. An international team of some 10 scientific institutions has shown that the whole of the early universe shows to be glowing in the Lyman-alpha line. This line is one of the key "fingerprints" of hydrogen. This detection reveals the existence of extensive masses of gas around primitive galaxies. The results of this study are based on observations made with the MUSE spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory, Cerro Paranal, Chile.
The principal investigator of the research, Lutz Wisotzki, of the Leibniz Institute of Astrophysics in Potsdam, Germany, recalls that when he presented this image for the first time at a conference a year ago, a colleague exclaimed, "Twenty years ago there was no Lyman-alpha anywhere, but now it's everywhere! " The high sensitivity of MUSE has revealed that Lyman-alpha emission covers the whole sky, including the empty spaces between the galaxies.
The article published in Nature provides a link between several lines of astrophysical research. Its unprecedented sensitivity in the galactic environments, particularly during their infancy. It also offers a basis for speculation on the sources of energy for all Lyman-alpha emissions; The results will be used for the next generation of theoretical models for the formation of galaxies.
Astronomical research is concerned with the most complete picture of the universe and its components. The results of this work have not been visible until now. This phenomenon is not associated with a single object of interest, rather offering a new view of the entire cosmos through a representative window. It shows that the sky looks like it's different depending on what you're looking for, it's just watching it, just like the sky at radio or X-ray wavelengths looks quite different from the visible sky.
"While the Hubble Space Telescope shows us galaxies, MUSE in Lyman-alpha shows light wherever we look," explains Ana Monreal-Ibero, an IAC researcher. co-author of the publication. This instrument has also been known to obtain some of the most famous galaxies known to the Hubble.
"In the future, we plan to make even more sensitive measurements," concludes Lutz Wisotzki. "We want to know the details about how these immense cosmic reservoirs of atomic hydrogen are distributed in space."
Explore further:
MUSE spectrograph reveals that nearly the entire sky in the early Universe is glowing with Lyman-alpha emission
More information:
L. Wisotzki et al, Nearly all the sky is covered by Lyman-a emission around high-redshift galaxies, Nature (2018). DOI: 10.1038 / s41586-018-0564-6
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