These joint efforts support the pathfinder for ngVLA technologies, focusing on very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) capabilities that enable ultra-sharp imaging of the Universe.
Recent News
Astronomers Detect Magnetic Fingerprint of a Cosmic Explosion for the First Time
Using the U.S. National Science Foundation Very Large Array (NSF VLA) radio telescope, which is operated by the U. S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO), the team detected polarized light from a gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow for the first time at radio wavelengths.
NSF VLA Sky Survey Sets New Standard for High-Resolution, Wide-Area Radio Astronomy
The U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) has completed observations for the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS), the most detailed radio survey of the sky ever conducted.
IMAGE RELEASE: A Blazar In the Early Universe
The supersharp radio “vision” of the National Science Foundation’s Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) has revealed previously unseen details in a jet of material ejected at three-quarters the speed of light from the core of a galaxy some 12.8 billion light-years from Earth. The galaxy, dubbed PSO J0309+27, is a blazar, with its jet pointed toward Earth, and is the brightest radio-emitting blazar yet seen at such a distance. It also is the second-brightest X-ray emitting blazar at such a distance.
In this image, the brightest radio emission comes from the galaxy’s core, at bottom right. The jet is propelled by the gravitational energy of a supermassive black hole at the core, and moves outward, toward the upper left. The jet seen here extends some 1,600 light-years, and shows structure within it.
At this distance, PSO J0309+27 is seen as it was when the universe was less than a billion years old, or just over 7 percent of its current age.
An international team of astronomers led by Cristiana Spingola of the University of Bologna in Italy, observed the galaxy in April and May of 2020. Their analysis of the object’s properties provides support for some theoretical models for why blazars are rare in the early universe. The researchers reported their results in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
CREDIT: Spingola et al.; Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF.
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This news article was originally published on the NRAO website on December 22, 2020.
Recent News
U.S. National Science Foundation, NSF National Radio Astronomy Observatory and U.S. Naval Observatory Partner on Pathfinder for Next Generation Very Large Array
These joint efforts support the pathfinder for ngVLA technologies, focusing on very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) capabilities that enable ultra-sharp imaging of the Universe.
Astronomers Detect Magnetic Fingerprint of a Cosmic Explosion for the First Time
Using the U.S. National Science Foundation Very Large Array (NSF VLA) radio telescope, which is operated by the U. S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO), the team detected polarized light from a gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow for the first time at radio wavelengths.
NSF VLA Sky Survey Sets New Standard for High-Resolution, Wide-Area Radio Astronomy
The U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) has completed observations for the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS), the most detailed radio survey of the sky ever conducted.