Using the LOFAR radio telescope, astronomers have discovered hundreds of thousands of previously undetected galaxies. Scientists hope the find will allow them to learn more about black holes and how galaxy clusters form.
The different colors in the radio source B3 0157+406 indicate the presence of large-scale turbulences in the source’s magnetic field. Less scientific observers might see faces in the wing-shaped structures.
This brightly colored tail belongs to spiral galaxy M106. Researchers believe the flame-looking structures are the result of activity from the galaxy’s central supermassive black hole. “With LOFAR, we want to find out which influence black holes have on the galaxies in which they are located,” said Marcus Brüggen, an astrophysicist at the University of Hamburg.
No, we did not make this nickname up! M51 is known as the “Whirlpool Galaxy” among LOFAR-astronomers, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s between 15 and 35 million light-years away from Earth and has a supermassive black hole at its center as well.
This merging galaxy cluster goes by the snappy name of CIZA J2242.8+5301. Among astronomers it’s known for its northern arch, dubbed the “Sausage.” Researchers hope the new LOFAR data will also give them more information on how galaxy clusters evolve.
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