A Blue-Velvet Universe: Very Large Telescope Captures Invisible Glow of Deep Space

[Judi Lynn]

By Doris Elin Salazar, Space.com Contributor | October 15, 2018 07:30am ET

The whole sky appears to glow in a new photo from the European Southern Observatory (ESO).

An international team of astronomers used the special eyes of the incredibly sensitive MUSE instrument on ESO's aptly named Very Large Telescope. The team peered into the Hubble Ultra Deep Field region and found "an unexpected abundance" of emissions from the early universe.

From their observations, the researchers extrapolated that almost all of the sky is invisibly glowing, like this scene, as dim yet abundant clouds of hydrogen imperceptibly produce Lyman-alpha emissions. [Found Them! 72 Unseen Galaxies Found Hiding in Plain Sight]

"This is a great discovery!" said team member Themiya Nanayakkara in an Oct. 1 photo caption by ESO. "Next time you look at the moonless night sky and see the stars, imagine the unseen glow of hydrogen: the first building block of the universe, illuminating the whole night sky."

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