Tagged:

'Gigantic' Galaxies Discovered by South African Radio Telescope

Two giant radio galaxies have been discovered with South Africa's powerful MeerKAT telescope, located in the Karoo region, a semi-arid area in the south-west of the country. Radio galaxies get their name from the fact that they release huge beams, or "jets", of radio light. These happen through the interaction between charged particles and strong magnetic fields related to supermassive black holes at the galaxies' hearts. These giant galaxies are much bigger than most of the others in the Universe and are thought to be quite rare. Although millions of radio galaxies are known to exist, only around 800 giants have been found. This population of galaxies was previously hidden from us by radio telescopes' limitations. But the MeerKAT has allowed new discoveries because it can detect faint, diffused light which previous telescopes were unable to do.

Africa: Discovery of Two New Giant Radio Galaxies Offers Fresh Insights Into the Universe

The Conversation Africa, 18 January 2021

Two giant radio galaxies have been discovered with South Africa's powerful MeerKAT telescope, located in the Karoo region, a semi-arid area in the south west of the country. Radio… Read more »
South Africa: Telescope Array Finds Radio Galaxies That Dwarf Our Milky Way

Daily Maverick, 18 January 2021

In a patch of sky long trawled across by countless telescopes, astronomers have discovered two gigantic radio galaxies - all thanks to MeerKAT, which spotted these distant objects… Read more »

InFocus

Radio Telescope Array in South Africa to Be Expanded By 20 Dishes

Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Blade Nzimande, has announced that 20 additional dishes will be allocated to the MeerKAT radio telescope array. The project, a ... Read more »
- South Africa: Meerkat Telescope to Be Expanded By 20 Dishes
- South Africa: Minister Blade Nzimande - Science and Innovation Dept Budget Vote 2020/21
Image of Galaxy's Supermassive Black Hole Stuns Scientists

An image of a patch of space 25,000 light years away constructed from radio signals captured by South Africa's MeerKAT telescope array has revealed the clearest-ever snapshot of ... Read more »
- South Africa: Image of Supermassive Black Hole at Galaxy's Centre Stuns Scientists
- South Africa: MeerKAT Reveals Clearest View Yet of Milky Way's Centre
South African Telescope Project Unveils Image of 'First Light'

The Square Kilometre Array radio telescope has revealed the first image of space taken using the project's first phase of 16 fully-functioning MeerKAT receptor units. Read more »
- South Africa: Radio Telescope Project Unveils 'First Light' Image From Outer Space
- South Africa: 16-Dish Meerkat Is King of the Southern Hemisphere

I. Heywood (Oxford/Rhodes/SARAO)

The two giant radio galaxies found with the MeerKAT telescope. In the background is the sky as seen in optical light. Overlaid in red is the radio light from the enormous radio galaxies, as seen by MeerKAT.