Scientists Discover 'Big Boss' Space Laser 5 Billion Light-Years Away From Earth

Astronomers have detected a powerful radio wave laser in space. In official terms, the laser is known as a megamaser and is the most distant to be ever observed by humans - situated 5 billion light-years away from Earth. Think of lasers that let out microwaves instead of visible light, hence giving it the name "maser" instead of laser.

To reach Earth, the light from this space laser travelled 58 thousand billion billion kilometres (36 thousand billion billion miles). The record-breaking megamaser was observed by a team of astronomers using the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory's MeerKAT telescope.

Space.com

What even are megamasers?

When two galaxies collide and crash into each other, megamasers are created. Such processes birth new stars and black holes. This megamaser is made up of hydroxyl - a chemical group consisting of one hydrogen atom and one oxygen atom - found inside galaxy mergers.

Artist¡¯s impression of a hydroxyl maser / Source: IDIA/LADUMA using data from NASA/StSci/SKAO/MolView

"When galaxies collide, the gas they contain becomes extremely dense and can trigger concentrated beams of light to shoot out," the research team's lead, Marcin Glowacki from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research in Australia said in a statement.

Also read: Laser-Powered Space Travel System Can Get Humans On Mars In Just 45 Days

The megamaser has been officially named "Nkalakatha," which means "big boss" in isiZulu in the Bantu language of the Zulus in South Africa.

"It's impressive that, with just a single night of observations, we've already found a record-breaking megamaser... It shows just how good the telescope is," Glowacki said in the statement.

NASA

The team is planning to make follow-up observations of the megamaser to facilitate more similar discoveries. The MeerKAT observes narrow spots in the sky in hopes of finding something that would shed light on how the universe has evolved.

Also read: Are Aliens Using Lasers To Communicate With Us? New Detection System Will Tell

What do you think about this otherworldly laser discovered by scientists? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

References

C. (2022d, April 7). Megamaser ¡°Nkalakatha¡± discovered by astronomers using MeerKAT ¨C UWC Astrophysics. UWC.

Strickland, A. C. (2022d, April 15). Powerful space laser detected by South African telescope. CNN.