New map showing 25,000 supermassive black holes, the most detailed star map yet
At first glance, it might seem that the sky map contains thousands of stars, but in reality these objects are supermassive black holes. Each black hole is located in a separate distant galaxy.
The new map is the result of years of work on incredibly complex data. We had to invent new methods for converting radio signals into images of the sky.
Research leader Francesco de Gasperin
Observations in the long radio wave rangecomplicated by the ionosphere surrounding the Earth. This layer of free electrons acts like a cloudy lens that constantly moves around the radio telescope. Co-author of the study, Reinout van Weeren from the Leiden Observatory, explains: “It’s like when you try to see the world while diving into a swimming pool. When you look up, the waves on the water in the pool deflect the light rays and distort the picture.”
New map created by combining 256 clocksobservations of the northern sky. Researchers have deployed supercomputers with new algorithms that adjust the influence of the ionosphere every four seconds.
Star map showing 25,000 supermassive black holes. Each white point — it is a supermassive black hole in its galaxy. Credit: LOFAR/LOL Review.
The map covers 4% of the northern half of the sky.Astronomers plan to continue until they have mapped the entire northern sky. In addition to supermassive black holes, the map also provides insight into the large-scale structure of the universe.
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