Scientists find elusive 'black galaxy' which may reveal the secrets of universe

An elusive black galaxy, dubbed 'invisible galaxy' has finally come in researchers' crosshairs after eluding them for years. Our most advanced telescopes had previously been unable to find the galaxy.A team from Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (Sissa) in Italy has been able to detect this ancient galaxy. The team has fully characterised the properties of this galaxy. The study has been publushed in The Astrophysical Journal.

The team of researchers used the Atacama Large Millimetre/Submillimeter Array (ALMA). The team revealed that it is "compact, and containing large quantities of interstellar dust, it is a young galaxy, forming stars at about 1000 times the rate of the Milky Way."

"Very distant galaxies are real mines of information about the past and future evolution of our universe," said First Author Marika Giulietti. She was quoted by EurekaAlert.

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"However, studying them is very challenging. They are very compact and therefore difficult to observe. Also, because of the distance, we receive very weak light from them. The cause of this obscuration is the massive presence of interstellar dust, which intercepts visible light from young stars, makes it difficult to detect with optical instruments, and re-emits it at greater wavelengths where it can be observed only with powerful interferometers in the (sub-)millimeter and radio wavebands."

"In this way, large celestial bodies act as a kind of enormous cosmic lens that makes the 'background' galaxies appear larger and brighter, allowing them to be identified and studied." Over the past decade, many observation programmes have been carried out with this approach. "About a hundred have been discovered so far, but there could be many more."

(With inputs from agencies)

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