Scientists capture hydrogen signal from billions of years in the Universe's past
Astronomers using the MeerKAT radio telescope have successfully detected a faint neutral hydrogen signal from billions of years in the past. This breakthrough validates hydrogen intensity mapping as a practical tool for creating three-dimensional maps of the universe's large-scale structure.
Why it matters
This new observational method allows scientists to map the distribution of matter in the cosmos more efficiently, providing deeper insights into galaxy formation and the evolution of the universe.
Astronomers using the MeerKAT radio telescope have, for the first time, confidently isolated a signal from neutral hydrogen originating from an epoch when the Universe was several billion years younger than it is today, TodayPress TV reports.
The detection opens the door to a new method of mapping the large-scale structure of the cosmos—so-called hydrogen intensity mapping.
Neutral hydrogen emits a faint radio signal at a wavelength of 21 centimetres. As the Universe expands, this signal is stretched—this is the redshift effect. The amount of redshift reveals how long the radiation has been travelling and to which epoch the emitting gas belongs.
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