"This system is truly extraordinary. We are seeing the radio equivalent of a laser halfway across the universe. This galaxy acts as a lens, the way a water droplet on a window pane would, because its mass curves the local space-time. So we have a radio laser passing through a cosmic telescope before being detected by the powerful MeerKAT radio telescope."
"A hydroxyl megamaser is a giant natural laser in space. When galaxies full of gas collide, molecules called hydroxyl smash together and release very strong radio waves. These waves behave like a laser, but instead of visible light, they produce radio signals that astronomers can detect with telescopes. Because these signals are extremely bright, they can be seen from very far across the universe."
Astronomers using South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope detected an extraordinarily distant hydroxyl megamaser from a galaxy system called HATLAS J142935.3-002836, located over 8 billion light-years away. This natural cosmic laser forms when colliding galaxies full of gas cause hydroxyl molecules to release intense radio waves. The signal is so powerful it may qualify as a gigamaser, even stronger than a typical megamaser. A galaxy positioned along the line of sight acts as a gravitational lens, magnifying the signal by more than ten times. The radio signal contains four separate components from multiple regions within the galaxy system, with at least two areas strongly magnified by this lensing effect.
Read at Mail Online
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