Astronomers have mapped about a million previously undiscovered galaxies beyond the Milky Way, in the most detailed survey of the southern sky ever carried out using radio waves.
The Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (or RACS) has placed the CSIRO's Australian SKA Pathfinder radio telescope (ASKAP) firmly on the international astronomy map.
While past surveys have taken years to complete, ASKAP's RACS survey was conducted in less than two weeks — smashing previous records for speed. Data gathered have produced images five times more sensitive and twice as detailed as previous ones.
[...] The CSIRO's RACS survey is an amazing advance made possible by huge leaps in space tech. The ASKAP radio telescope, which became fully operational in February last year, was designed for speed.
[...] Over the next few years, ASKAP is expected to conduct even more sensitive surveys in different wavelength bands.
In the meantime, the RACS survey catalogue is greatly improving our knowledge of the radio sky. It'll continue to be a key resource for researchers around the world.
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Newly discovered giant galaxies dwarf the Milky Way:
Our universe may be filled with unseen giants. Astronomers have discovered two giant radio galaxies, which are some of the largest-known objects in the universe. This revelation suggests that the enormous galaxies may be more common than previously believed.
[...] Giant radio galaxies [are] rare and have jets [that flow perpendicularly to the galaxy's disk] that exceed 22 times the size of our Milky Way galaxy. The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy, which is also fairly common, and looks like it sounds: a spiral-shaped galaxy with a central bar-shaped structure made of stars.
Now, astronomers have found two giant radio galaxies in a rather small patch of sky.
"We found these giant radio galaxies in a region of sky which is only about 4 times the area of the full Moon," said Jacinta Delhaize, lead study author and research fellow at the University of Cape Town, in a statement. "Based on our current knowledge of the density of giant radio galaxies in the sky, the probability of finding two of them in this region is less than 0.0003 per cent. This means that giant radio galaxies are probably far more common than we thought!"
Journal Reference:
Delhaize, J, Heywood, I, Prescott, M, et al. MIGHTEE: are giant radio galaxies more common than we thought?, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa3837)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 02 2020, @06:06AM
It's time to focus on the Milky Way, where we can actually see exoplanets.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 02 2020, @08:38AM (8 children)
It would have been fine to omit "Beyond the Milky Way", since, by definition, that's where _all_ the undiscovered galaxies are found.
Or did I miss the discovery of new galaxies within the Milky Way galaxy?
(Score: 3, Funny) by aristarchus on Wednesday December 02 2020, @08:44AM (5 children)
Well, indeed you did! Did we not just too long ago have a fine article on galaxies just discovered within the Milky Way?
Let me find it for you.
Ok, here, Nov. 22, not even that long ago. What did you think globular stellar clusters were, anyway? [soylentnews.org]
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 02 2020, @10:15AM (1 child)
this could be the lamest attempted save ever seen on the internet
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 02 2020, @05:40PM
Or, alternatively, aristarchus might actually know whereof he speaks?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 02 2020, @04:31PM (2 children)
Again, by definition, those stellar clusters _are_ the Milky Way.
We consumed the Kraken galaxy fair and square... Bruppp!
(Score: 3, Funny) by aristarchus on Wednesday December 02 2020, @05:36PM (1 child)
But also by definition, if they are galactic cores, they are (former) galaxies within the Milky Way! So let's have our cake, and eat it, too, m'kay? And the revenge of the Kraken, ironically enough, may be Andromeda, which may swallow us!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 02 2020, @07:08PM
Hey, if you Krakens lost your homeland, it is because you attacked us and we took your territory. Indeed the FSM has given us this entire galaxy, along with everything we annex into it, to occupy and own forever and ever. We will never permit a Kraken state as long as you are bent on our destruction, and in fact we will establish Milky Way settlements in any stellar cluster we please.
Get over it.
And let the Andromedans be warned that the FSM prefers us over them.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 02 2020, @10:36AM
People start muttering about cluster etc., what you really missed is this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKnpPCQyUec [youtube.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 02 2020, @04:57PM
Not just unbelievably vast...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqOoTQ-G-r4 [youtube.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 02 2020, @10:17AM (2 children)
Come on you have to admit that THAT many galaxies GALAXIES is a fucking trip. A FUCKING TRIP.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 02 2020, @01:21PM (1 child)
space is big!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 02 2020, @03:38PM
that's what she said