{"id":185861,"date":"2021-02-22T17:53:36","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T14:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/supercomputers-and-a-few-humans-create-sky-map-of-25000-black-holes\/"},"modified":"2021-02-22T17:53:36","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T14:53:36","slug":"supercomputers-and-a-few-humans-create-sky-map-of-25000-black-holes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/supercomputers-and-a-few-humans-create-sky-map-of-25000-black-holes\/","title":{"rendered":"#Supercomputers (and a few humans) create sky map of 25,000 black holes"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Supercomputers (and a few humans) create sky map of 25,000 black holes<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n Astronomers have used a combination of\u00a0low-frequency telescopes, supercomputers, and algorithms to create a vast sky map of 25,000 supermassive black holes.<\/p>\n

The map shows thousands of twinkling dots that look like stars, but are actually enormous black holes, each of which is located in a different, distant galaxy.<\/p>\n

The researchers pinpointed the celestial objects by analyzing radio emissions emitted by matter that was ejected when it got close to the black holes.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Credit: LOFAR\/LOL Survey<\/figcaption>
<\/a>Each white dot in the map is a supermassive black hole in its own galaxy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These emissions were detected by\u00a0LOFAR<\/a> (Low Frequency Array),\u00a0an enormous radio telescope network spread across 52 stations in nine European countries.<\/p>\n

LOFAR operates at the lowest frequencies that can be observed from Earth. However, its location produced a major problem for the study.<\/p>\n

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LOFAR\u2019s observations are distorted by the ionosphere, a shell of free electrons that surrounds the Earth and acted like a cloudy lens over the telescope.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s similar to when you try to see the world while immersed in a swimming pool,\u201d explained<\/a> study\u00a0co-author Reinout van Weeren of the Leiden Observatory.<\/span>\u00a0\u201cWhen you look up, the waves on the water of the pool deflect the light rays and distort the view.\u201d<\/p>\n

The researchers overcame this challenge by\u00a0using supercomputers and new algorithms to correct the effect of the ionosphere every four seconds.<\/p>\n

This allowed them to convert the radio signals into images of black holes.<\/p>\n

The new map currently covers 4% of the Northern sky, but the astronomers plan to continue their work until they\u2019ve charted the entire area.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, they hope to uncover new insights into the structure of the universe.<\/p>\n

\n Published February 22, 2021 \u2014 14:53 UTC\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n