January 29, 2023: A signal that was sent by a galaxy 9 billion ly away has been captured by scientists for the first time ever. Continue reading to know more!
A radio signal sent from a galaxy almost 9 billion light-years away from the Earth has been captured for the first time ever! The signal is especially unique because it has an absurd wavelength, which is known as the ‘hydrogen line’ or a ‘21 cm line’, which is apparently emitted by only neutral hydrogen atoms.
The signal was captured by the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope in India.
The discovery means that scientists would now be able to study some of the earliest models and examples of stars and galaxy formation.
The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope is located near Pune, Junnar in India. The study has been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The signal emitted this time was from a star-forming galaxy, dubbed SDSSJ0826+5630, sent from a galaxy so far away from Earth, such that the Milky Way at the time was only 4.9 billion years old, which is currently 13.8 billion years old. This means we are looking back in time of almost 9 billion years using this radio signal!
The wavelength emitted by this galaxy was only recorded to be sent from some nearby galaxies up until now. However, with the discovery of this new signal, astronomers should be able to measure the gas content of this faraway galaxy and also figure out its mass.
The scientists concluded that this galaxy is double the mass of the stars which can be spotted from Earth. The astronomical distance over which this wavelength was recorded is the largest till now, and that too by a huge margin.