Scientists have made an exciting discovery by capturing a specific type of radio signal from a galaxy located almost 9 billion light-years away from Earth. The galaxy, named SDSSJ0826+5630, was found to be emitting a radio signal with a specific wavelength called the "21 cm line," also known as the hydrogen line. This signal is emitted by hydrogen atoms and is used by astronomers to identify the location of galaxies in the universe.
The detection of this radio signal, which is the first of its kind to be detected at such an enormous distance, allows scientists to look deeper into the secrets of the early universe. Arnab Chakraborty, cosmologist and co-author of a study on the detection, said, "It's the equivalent to a look-back in time of 8.8 billion years." The signal was emitted from the galaxy when the universe was just 4.9 billion years old.
The radio signal was captured by researchers in India and Montreal using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. The discovery was announced this week in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society journal. The faint signal was able to be spotted at such a record-breaking distance due to the naturally occurring phenomenon known as gravitational lensing.
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Gravitational lensing is when the signal from a distant object is magnified by the presence of another galaxy. In this case, the signal was bent by the presence of another galaxy, which magnified it enough for the telescope to pick it up. This allowed the researchers to measure the gas composition of the distant galaxy the signal was coming from.
The researchers discovered that the atomic mass of the gas content of this galaxy is nearly twice the mass of the stars visible to us. This represents a new opportunity for scientists to understand the cosmic evolution of stars and galaxies. It's important to note that this signal was not sent by aliens, but emitted naturally from the star-creating galaxy.
