Galaxy Arp 220 as imaged by the Wide Field Planetary Camera on the Hubble Space Telescope.NASA, ESA,
A powerful space laser emitted from a distant galaxy has been discovered by astronomers.
The beam of radio waves is what scientists call a “megamaser” and this one is the most distant yet, emerging 5 billion light-years from Earth.
It was detected by an international team of scientists using South Africa’s “MeerKAT,” a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas.
Megamasers are naturally occurring, radio-wavelength lasers that can help shed light on galaxy collisions.
“Megamasers act like bright lights that say: Here is a collision of galaxies that is making new stars and feeding massive black holes,” said study co-author Jeremy Darling, of the University of Colorado.
When galaxies merge, the gas they contain becomes extremely dense, producing a specific radio signal known as a maser.
Megamasers are powerful masers produced in huge galaxy collisions, like beams from cosmic lighthouses.
The unearthing of the most distant megamaser to date was described by Darling and colleagues in a research paper published last week.
To reflect its status as a record-breaker, the team named the space laser Nkalakatha — an isiZulu word meaning “big boss.”
“Nkalakatha is one of the most powerful OH megamasers known, and it’s the most distant megamaser of its kind ever discovered, so it is truly a ‘big boss,’” said study co-author and Rutgers University astronomer Professor Andrew Baker.
“We expect it is only the first of many OH [hydroxyl] megamasers that will be discovered as the project continues.” READ MORE...
