A radio signal 9 billion light-years from Earth has been captured in record-breaking footage, Space.com reported on Friday.
The signal was detected by a singular wavelength referred to as the “21-centimeter line” or “hydrogen line”, which is alleged to be emitted by neutral hydrogen atoms.
A signal captured by India’s Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope could mean scientists can begin studying the formation of a few of the earliest stars and galaxies, the report says.
Scientists have detected a signal from a “star-forming galaxy” called SDSSJ0826+5630, which was emitted when the 13.8 billion-year-old Milky Way – the galaxy that comprises Earth – was only 4.9 billion years old.
“This is the equivalent of looking back in time 8.8 billion years,” said writer and postdoctoral cosmologist within the Department of Physics at McGill University, Arnab Chakraborty, in a press release this week.
Galaxies are said to emit light in a big selection of radio wavelengths. But until recently, 21 cm radio waves were recorded only from nearby galaxies.
“The galaxy emits several types of radio signals. Until now, it’s only been possible to capture this particular signal from a close-by galaxy, limiting our knowledge to those galaxies closer to Earth,” said Chakraborty.
The signal allowed astronomers to measure the gas content of the galaxy and thus find its mass.
This determination led scientists to conclude that this distant galaxy has twice the mass of stars visible from Earth, the report says.
