Scientists reveal 4.4 million galaxies in a new map

Durham University astronomer collaborating with a team of international scientists have mapped more than a quarter of the northern sky using a pan-European radio telescope.

The map shows a very detailed radio image of more than four million objects and a very dynamic picture of our Universe, which has never before been made public.

The majority of these objects are billions of light years away and are either galaxies that harbor massive black holes or are rapidly growing new stars. The objects that have been discovered include colliding groups of distant galaxies and flaring stars.

The equivalent of 20,000 laptops were used to process 3,500 hours of data for the map.

The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey data release presents over a million objects that have never been seen before with a telescope and over four million new discoveries at radio wavelengths.

The project is exciting to work on, said Astronomer Timothy Shimwell. Each time we create a map, our screens are filled with new discoveries and objects that have never been seen before. Our team is thrilled to be able to release these maps publicly, as it is an incredible experience to explore the unfamiliar phenomena that glow in the energetic radio Universe. We expect this release to lead to many more scientific discoveries in the future, including examining how the largest structures in the Universe grow, how black holes form and evolve, the physics governing the formation of stars in distant galaxies and even detailing the most spectacular phases.

Dr. Morabito said: "We have opened the door to new discoveries with this project, and future work will follow up these new discoveries in even more detail with techniques, which we work on here at Durham as part of the LO."

This data can be used to find signals from nearby planets and even faint signatures in the distant Universe.

More information: T. W. Shimwell et al, The LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey, Astronomy & Astrophysics (2022). DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202142484 , www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/forth/aa42484-21.pdf Journal information: Astronomy & Astrophysics Citation: Scientists reveal 4.4 million galaxies in a new map (2022, February 25) retrieved 25 February 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-02-scientists-reveal-million-galaxies.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.