University of Manchester | via AlphaGalileo & ScienceDaily | 08 Dec 2010
Upgraded radio telescope sees doubleThis dramatic image is the first to be produced by e-MERLIN, a powerful new array of radio telescopes linked across the UK.
Spearheaded by the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory and funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the e-MERLIN telescope will allow astronomers to address key questions relating to the origin and evolution of galaxies, stars and planets.
To demonstrate its capabilities, University of Manchester astronomers turned the new telescope array toward the "Double Quasar." This enigmatic object, first discovered by Jodrell Bank, is a famous example of Einstein's theory of gravity in action.
The new image shows how the light from a quasar billions of light years away is bent around a foreground galaxy by the curvature of space. This light has been travelling for 9 billion years before it reached the Earth. The quasar is a galaxy powered by a super-massive black hole, leading to the ejection of jets of matter moving at almost the speed of light -- one of which can be seen arcing to the left in this new e-MERLIN image.
The warping of space results in a 'gravitational lens' producing multiple images of the same quasar -- the two brightest of these lensed images can be seen here as two bright objects, one below the other. The foreground galaxy whose mass is responsible for the lensing effect is also visible just above the lower quasar image. The radio emission seen in the e-MERLIN image suggests that this galaxy also harbours a black hole, albeit somewhat smaller.
New Scientist | Short Sharp Science | 09 Dec 2010
Black holes and warped space: New UK telescope shows off first imagesDo not adjust your screen. There is in fact only one quasar in this image.
The greenish-grey glows in the upper and lower parts of the image actually come from a single quasar 9 billion light years away. The gravity of an intervening galaxy - visible as a bright glow just above the lower quasar - has bent the quasar's light, producing multiple images in an effect called gravitational lensing.
This picture of the so-called "Double Quasar" combines optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope (greenish glows) and the first radio image (bright yellow, orange and blue areas) to be produced by e-MERLIN, a newly upgraded array of seven radio telescopes spanning 217 kilometres across the UK.
Quasars are the bright inner regions of distant galaxies that contain colossal black holes at their centres. The black holes are devouring their surroundings and shooting out high-speed jets of matter that can be picked up by radio telescopes. The upper quasar image shows one of these jets arching to the left and the head of a jet ejected in the opposite direction on the right (blue blob).
Science and Technology Facilities Council | Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics | 09 Dec 2010