Chilean telescope exposes the largest group of galaxies

An international team of astronomers discovered the group of young galaxies in the Universe largest telescope thanks to VTL (Very Large Telescope, Very Large Telescope), the European Southern Observatory (ESO, for its acronym in English), located in the Chilean desert Atacama.

Technically, scientists called their discovery ACT-CL J0102-4915, but I know so familiar with the name El Gordo, Spanish for having discovered in Chile and in honor of his size. More than 7,000 million light years from Earth, this galaxy cluster is the largest ever seen in the distant universe? It was discovered early.

"This group is the most massive, hottest, and emits more X-rays than any known cluster at this distance or beyond," said Felipe Menanteau Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, who led the study.

A galaxy cluster

The finding, experts say, is relevant, but what is a galaxy cluster? "As the saying goes: If you want to understand where you are going, you have to know where you've been"

Siphon Cristóbal, at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile

T

hese formations say the astronomers, are the objects bound by gravity in the universe larger and are formed by the merging of smaller groups of galaxies. El Gordo, in particular, consists of two subgroups of galaxies collided to several million miles per hour and is so far away that its light has traveled seven million years to reach Earth. Galaxy groups also can be used to study these mysterious phenomena.

While a group the size of El Gordo is not common at that distance, its formation can be understood in terms of the standard model of Big Bang cosmology, according to which the universe is composed mainly of dark matter and energy, and originated with the Big Bang, about 13,700 million years.

"It's the first time I found a system like the Bullet Cluster (two colliding galaxy clusters) to such a long distance," says Christopher Siphon, the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC) in Santiago.

"As the saying goes: If you want to understand where you are going, you have to know where you've been."

Telescope VLT

The role of the VLT telescope in the discovery of El Gordo was key. El Gordo is so far away that its light has traveled seven million years to reach Earth. The VLT is operated by the European Southern Observatory, an astronomical organization comprising fifteen countries and consists of four optical telescopes and a number of additional facilities. The four main devices are called Antu, Kueyen, Melipal and Yepun, Mapuche language words that refer to astronomical objects.

Together, the four telescopes can detect objects with high accuracy.

Among his pioneering research, the VLT was the first telescope to see the image of an extrasolar planet. The impressive building that houses the VLT was used in the recording of Quantum of Solace, the 2008 saga of James Bond. Also, the huge telescope mirrors were the subject of a documentary by the National Geographic.

Low humidity, high peaks and plains and low light pollution and radio have made Atacama, one of the driest places on the planet, the ideal place for astronomical experiments.