Previous images from deep space showed many galaxies for a long time. However, you can see the shapes well here, but it’s hard to pin down more details. On the other hand, the new images are so high-resolution that one can observe internal processes in distant groups of stars.
Comparison: an ordinary radio telescope …
… and the LOFAR solution
Many of the images now being delivered reveal, for example, the interaction of black holes in the centers of galaxies with the surrounding star systems. Using this data, astronomers want to gain more in-depth knowledge about the origins of many of the Milky Way’s sisters and further develop them.
… no one has ever seen him before
Recordings from promises, the Low Frequency Array, which was developed under the leadership of Dutch astronomers. The entire system consists of more than 70,000 individual antennas in numerous locations from Italy to Sweden and from France to Latvia. The plant was developed and built over six years. LOFAR works with radio signals in the previously neglected frequency ranges between 10MHz and 240MHz.
Radio telescopes offer clear advantages over optical systems for such observations. For example, it allows seeing regions of the universe covered in dark clouds of dust and gas. In addition, a significantly higher resolution can be achieved – because several antennas can be interconnected to form a hypothetical telescope with a receiver thousand kilometers for long-wave signals, which is not possible with short-wave visible light.
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