The image above shows the deepest LOFAR image ever made, in the region of sky understood as Elais-N1, which is one of the three fields studied as part of this deep radio study. A worldwide group of astronomers has released the most delicate images of the Universe ever taken at low radio frequencies, utilizing the International Low Frequency Array (LOFAR). The deep LOFAR images have actually led to a new relation between a galaxys radio emission and the rate at which it is forming stars, and a more accurate measurement of the number of brand-new stars being formed in the young Universe.
“LOFAR is unique in its ability to make premium images of the sky at meter-wavelengths,” said Huub Röttgering, Leiden University, who is leading the total suite of LOFAR studies. The International LOFAR Telescope is a trans-European network of radio antennas, with a core situated in Exloo in the Netherlands.
Isabella Prandoni, INAF Bologna (Italy), included: “Star formation is typically enshrouded in dust, which obscures our view when we look with optical telescopes. However radio waves penetrate the dust, so with LOFAR we acquire a total photo of their star-formation.” The deep LOFAR images have actually led to a new relation between a galaxys radio emission and the rate at which it is forming stars, and a more accurate measurement of the variety of brand-new stars being formed in the young Universe.
Exotic things
The amazing dataset has allowed a wide variety of extra clinical research studies, varying from the nature of the amazing jets of radio emission produced by massive great voids, to that occurring from collisions of huge clusters of galaxies. It has also tossed up unexpected outcomes. For instance, by comparing the duplicated observations, the researchers browsed for things that change in radio brightness. This led to the detection of the red dwarf star CR Draconis. Joe Callingham, Leiden University and ASTRON (NL), kept in mind that “CR Draconis reveals bursts of radio emission that strongly look like those from Jupiter, and may be driven by the interaction of the star with a previously unknown planet, or due to the fact that the star is rotating extremely rapidly.”
Huge computational obstacle
LOFAR does not straight produce maps of the sky; rather the signals from more than 70,000 antennas must be combined. To produce these deep photos, more than 4 petabytes of raw data– equivalent to about a million DVDs– were taken and processed.
A video fly-through of part of the sky that was studied. Credit: Jurjen de Jong, Leiden University
Multi-wavelength data
Just as crucial in extracting the science has actually been a contrast of these radio images with information gotten at other wavelengths. “The parts of the sky we chose are the best-studied in the Northern sky” explained Philip Best. This has actually allowed the group to assemble optical, near-infrared, far-infrared, and sub-millimeter information for the LOFAR-detected galaxies, which has been essential in interpreting the LOFAR results.
LOFAR
LOFAR is the worlds leading telescope of its type. It is operated by ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, and collaborated by a collaboration of 9 European nations: France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and the UK. In its high-band setup, LOFAR observes at frequencies of around 150 MHz– in between the FM and DAB radio bands. “LOFAR is unique in its ability to make top quality images of the sky at meter-wavelengths,” said Huub Röttgering, Leiden University, who is leading the overall suite of LOFAR studies. “These deep field images are a testimony to its capabilities and a gold mine for future discoveries.”
The released papers can be discovered on the Astronomy & & Astrophysics site.
LOFAR
The International LOFAR Telescope is a trans-European network of radio antennas, with a core located in Exloo in the Netherlands. LOFAR works by integrating the signals from more than 70,000 individual antenna dipoles, located in antenna stations across the Netherlands and in partner European countries. The stations are linked by a high-speed fiber optic network, with effective computer systems utilized to process the radio signals in order to simulate a trans-European radio antenna that stretches over 1300 kilometers. The International LOFAR Telescope is unique, given its level of sensitivity, broad field-of-view, and image resolution or clarity. The LOFAR data archive is the largest huge information collection in the world.
LOFAR was designed, built and is currently operated by ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy. France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the UK are all partner countries in the International LOFAR Telescope.
The image above reveals the inmost LOFAR image ever made, in the area of sky understood as Elais-N1, which is one of the three fields studied as part of this deep radio study. The image develops from a single LOFAR pointing observed repeatedly for an overall of 164 hours. Over 80,000 radio sources are detected; this includes some magnificent large-scale emission arising from enormous black holes, however most sources are distant galaxies like the Milky Way, forming their stars. Credit: Philip Best & & Jose Sabater, University of Edinburgh
A worldwide group of astronomers has actually released the most sensitive pictures of the Universe ever taken at low radio frequencies, using the International Low Frequency Array (LOFAR). By observing the same regions of sky over and over once again and integrating the information to make a single very-long exposure image, the team has actually identified the faint radio glow of stars blowing up as supernovae, in tens of countless galaxies out to the most far-off parts of the Universe. A special issue of the clinical journal Astronomy & & Astrophysics is committed to fourteen research study documents describing these images and the very first scientific results.
Cosmic star formation
Philip Best, Professor of Extragalactic Astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh, UK, who led the deep survey, discussed: “When we look at the sky with a radio telescope, the brightest things we see are produced by huge black holes at the center of galaxies. However, our images are so deep that most of the items in it are galaxies like our own Milky Way, which produce faint radio waves that trace their on-going star-formation.”
” The mix of the high level of sensitivity of LOFAR and the wide location of sky covered by our survey– about 300 times the size of the full moon– has actually enabled us to find 10s of thousands of galaxies like the Milky Way, far out into the far-off Universe. The light from these galaxies has been taking a trip for billions of years to reach the Earth; this indicates that we see the galaxies as they were billions of years ago, back when they were forming most of their stars.”
