Thanks to new observations from the modern ALMA ( Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array ) telescope in Chile, we can observe an image of a distant galaxy (when the universe was only 15% of its current age, about 2.4 billion years after the Big Bang) seen through a gravitational lens in extraordinary detail .
The image in question shows an enlarged view of the star-forming regions of the galaxy under study by ALMA, SDP.81, whose light is the victim of a cosmic effect known as gravitational lensing: the galaxy located between ALMA and SDP.81 acts as a magnifying glass deforming the light from the farthest galaxy and forming the fantastic astronomical phenomenon of harmonic distortion that we know as Einstein’s ring (in fact, gravitational lenses were predicted by Albert Einstein within his theory of general relativity, stating that objects double space and time).
ALMA, a single telescope of revolutionary design, composed of 66 high-precision antennas located in the Chajnantor plain, at an altitude of 5000 meters in the north of Chile, has acted as an interferometer, that is, thanks to the synchronization of all its antennas, has collected the light as if it were a gigantic virtual telescope, finally producing these new images with a resolution up to 6 times greater than those captured by NASA / ESA’s own Hubble telescope.
Experts, using spectral information collected by ALMA, have uncovered details about its structure, content, movement, and other physical characteristics . For example, the interior of SDP.81 reveals giant repositories of cold and probably unstable molecular gas (where stars and planets are born) with clusters of up to 100 light-years, as if of giant versions of the Orion nebula generating thousands. new stars will be.
“The image of the galaxy, reconstructed from ALMA data, is spectacular. ALMA’s huge collecting surface, the wide separation of its antennas, and the stable atmosphere over the Atacama Desert allow us to obtain images and spectra with an exquisite level of detail. That means we get very sensitive observations , as well as information about how different parts of the galaxy are moving. We can see how galaxies at the other end of the universe merge and create large numbers of stars. This is the kind of thing I am passionate about about my job! ”Enthuses Rob Ivison, ESO Science Director.
Another of the astronomers’ conclusions is that there is also a supermassive black hole located in the center of the galaxy with more than 200–300 million times the mass of the Sun.
