ALMA Uncovers Secrets of Giant Space Blob

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ALMA Uncovers Secrets of Giant Space Blob

Post by bystander » Wed Sep 21, 2016 2:09 pm

ALMA Uncovers Secrets of Giant Space Blob
ALMA | ESO | NRAO | NAOJ | 2016 Sep 21
[img3="Computer simulation of a Lyman-alpha Blob
Credit: J.Geach/D.Narayanan/R.Crain
"]https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso1632a.jpg[/img3][hr][/hr]
An international team using ALMA, along with ESO’s Very Large Telescope and other telescopes, has discovered the true nature of a rare object in the distant Universe called a Lyman-alpha Blob. Up to now astronomers did not understand what made these huge clouds of gas shine so brightly, but ALMA has now seen two galaxies at the heart of one of these objects and they are undergoing a frenzy of star formation that is lighting up their surroundings. These large galaxies are in turn at the centre of a swarm of smaller ones in what appears to be an early phase in the formation of a massive cluster of galaxies. The two ALMA sources are expected to evolve into a single giant elliptical galaxy.

Lyman-alpha Blobs (LABs) are gigantic clouds of hydrogen gas that can span hundreds of thousands of light-years and are found at very large cosmic distances. The name reflects the characteristic wavelength of ultraviolet light that they emit, known as Lyman-alpha radiation. Since their discovery, the processes that give rise to LABs have been an astronomical puzzle. But new observations with ALMA may now have now cleared up the mystery.

One of the largest Lyman-alpha Blobs known, and the most thoroughly studied, is SSA22-Lyman-alpha blob 1, or LAB-1. Embedded in the core of a huge cluster of galaxies in the early stages of formation, it was the very first such object to be discovered — in 2000 — and is located so far away that its light has taken about 11.5 billion years to reach us. ...

Galactic Fireworks Illuminate Monster Hydrogen Blob
ALMA | ESO | NRAO | NAOJ | 2016 Sep 21

ALMA Observations of Lyman-alpha Blob 1: Halo Substructure Illuminated from Within - J. E. Geach et al
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