Chance discovery reveals star factories in the distant Universe

This zoom on the location of the distant galaxy SMM J2135-0102 reveals how it was first discovered by astronomers observing a massive galaxy cluster using submillimetre wavelengths of light, with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope. After zooming to the location of the galaxy cluster the position of SMM J2135-0102, as discovered by APEX’s LABOCA camera, is shown in red. A further zoom shows how follow-up observations with the Submillimeter Array (also in red) revealed the clouds where stars are forming in the galaxy with great precision. Our view of the galaxy is magnified by gravitational lensing, which also produces a doubling of the image; the apparent eight regions in the Submillimeter Array observations actually represent four distinct regions of star formation in the galaxy.