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A group of astronomers have produced the most precise radio depiction to date of a historic cluster of stars.
This picture is of the second most luminous globular cluster visible in the dark sky, referred to as 47 Tucanae.
The researchers also identified a previously unknown radio signal emanating from the center of the cluster.
galaxy
Large spherical groupings of aged, immense stellar bodies commonly observed surrounding the Milky Way galaxy.
Dr. Arash Bahramian, an astronomer at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Australia, stated that star clusters serve as a reminder of the early days of the universe.
He described: “Globular clusters are ancient, massive spheres of stars that are visible in the vicinity of the Milky Way.”
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The stars are tightly packed together in a spherical shape, ranging from tens of thousands to millions.
The picture depicts 47 Tucanae, a highly dense globular cluster within our galaxy.
The core is extremely bright and densely packed with over one million stars.
The picture was generated using over 450 hours of data gathered by CSIRO’s Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). This is the most comprehensive and sensitive radio image ever produced by an Australian radio telescope.
If this signal is confirmed to be a black hole, it would be a groundbreaking finding and the first recorded instance of a radio detection within a cluster.
Similar to light, radio waves emitted from celestial bodies such as planets and stars are able to travel through space. These signals can be detected using radio telescopes.
A common practice among astronomers is to transform these signals into visual representations, resulting in the production of radio images.
The cluster is visible to the naked eye and was initially listed in the 1700s. However, upon closer inspection, astronomers were able to identify an extremely weak radio signal at its core that had not been previously detected.
The main writer, Dr. Alessandro Paduano, from ICRAR’s Curtin University branch, stated that finding the signal was a thrilling revelation and could be due to one of two potential explanations.
He stated that 47 Tucanae may potentially harbor a black hole with a mass ranging from supermassive black holes found in galactic centers to stellar black holes formed from collapsed stars.
Although intermediate-mass black holes are believed to be present in globular clusters, a definitive detection has not yet been made.
“If this signal is confirmed to be a black hole, it would be a groundbreaking finding and the first instance of a black hole being detected via radio waves within a cluster.”
One potential origin of the signal could be a pulsar, which is a rapidly spinning neutron star that releases radio waves.
Dr. Paduano stated that the discovery of a pulsar in close proximity to a cluster’s center is scientifically significant. This finding could potentially aid in the search for a central black hole that has not yet been detected.
Based on the results reported in The Astrophysical Journal, the method utilized to capture an extremely precise image has the potential to assist upcoming radio telescopes in identifying some of the most elusive entities in the cosmos.
Source: independent.co.uk
