A Cosmic Spiderweb
Once upon a time, when the Universe was just about three billion years old, galaxies started to form. Now astronomers using a CSIRO radio telescope have captured evidence of the raw materials these galaxies used to fashion their first stars
cold molecular hydrogen gas, H2. Even though we cant see it directly, we know it is there by using another gas that reveals its presence carbon monoxide (CO) a radio wave emitter.
The telescope is CSIROs Australia Telescope Compact Array telescope near Narrabri, NSW. It one of very few telescopes in the world that can do such difficult work, because it is both extremely sensitive and can receive radio waves of the right wavelengths, says CSIRO astronomer Professor Ron Ekers.
One of the studies of these raw galaxies was performed by astronomer Dr. Bjorn Emonts of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science. He and fellow researchers employed the Compact Array to observe and record a gigantic and distant amalgamation of star forming clumps or proto-galaxies which are congealing together to create a single massive galaxy. This framework is known as the Spiderweb and is theorized to be at least ten thousand million light years distant. The Compact Array radio telescope is capable of picking up the signature of star formation, giving astronomers vital clues about how early galaxies began star formation.
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http://www.universetoday.com/103048/astronomers-spy-early-galaxies-caught-in-a-cosmic-spiderweb/