The
Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope is quickly making good on its promise. The
Netherlands-based array picks up low radio frequencies, including the
traces of radiation that form when galaxies merge. Now, an international team
of scientists has published the first research made possible by LOFAR — and it
adds 300,000 previously unknown galaxies to our map of the universe.
On
Tuesday, the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics published a
special edition dedicated to 26 research papers produced from LOFAR’s first space
survey.
Because
LOFAR can detect low radio frequencies invisible to other
telescopes, it was able to record huge quantities of previously undetectable
data during its survey of the sky — about 10 million DVDs worth. According
to Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON) researcher Timothy
Shimwell, processing that data to generate maps featuring these 300,000
additional galaxies was a team effort.
Learn
more here.
No comments