Giant space blob glows from within
This image shows one of the largest known single objects in the Universe, the Lyman-alpha blob LAB-1. This picture is a composite of two different images taken with the FORS instrument on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) — a wider image showing the surrounding galaxies and a much deeper observation of the blob itself at the centre made to detect its polarisation. The intense Lyman-alpha ultraviolet radiation from the blob appears green after it has been stretched by the expansion of the Universe during its long journey to Earth. These new observations show for the first time that the light from this object is polarised. This means that the giant "blob" must be powered by galaxies embedded within the cloud.
Credit:ESO/M. Hayes
About the Image
| Id: | eso1130a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 17 August 2011, 19:00 |
| Related releases: | eso1632, eso1130 |
| Size: | 2042 x 2042 px |
About the Object
| Name: | LAB-1 |
| Type: | Early Universe : Cosmology : Morphology : Large-Scale Structure |
| Distance: | z=3.1 (redshift) |
| Constellation: | Aquarius |
| Category: | Cosmology |
Wallpapers
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 22 17 25.78 |
| Position (Dec): | 0° 12' 39.20" |
| Field of view: | 1.60 x 1.60 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 9.9° right of vertical |
View in WorldWide Telescope:
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical B | Very Large Telescope FORS2 | |
| Optical OIII | 500 nm | Very Large Telescope FORS2 |
| Optical Pseudogreen (B+R) | Very Large Telescope FORS2 | |
| Optical V | Very Large Telescope FORS2 |