Astronomers at the ESO (European Southern Observatory) have found 72 new galaxies hiding in the plain sight. This was observed by Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE), a second generation instrument in development for the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the ESO.
The galaxies were observed on the area in space called “Hubble Ultra Deep Field”, usually where many telescopes are pointed in search for such galaxies. But what makes MUSE different is that, it uses spectroscopy to break light into its component colors. And as it happens, these galaxies emits Lyman-alpha light which is a particular wavelength of ultraviolet light – which MUSE was able to detect unlike other telescope including our very famous Hubble. You can read about the paper release here.
These galaxies are said to be 13 billion years old which were formed shortly after the formation of our Universe.
As the space technology improves, astronomers claims that they will be able to understand more about such discoveries – including more on “search for life”. One such improvement that will be going up in the space to join other telescopes is the James Webb Space Telescope which is expected to be launched in 2019.
