It seems that scientists have been peeking under the covers of the Universe again.

ATCA, located near Narrabri, NSW, is one of the only telescopes in the world that can perform this type of detection.  The radio telescope has both the sensitive and it is tuned to the right wavelengths to detect the raw material scientists are interested in finding.

ATCA has been looking for cold molecular hydrogen gas, H₂.  It is believed that this gas is the raw material for making stars.  Making things even more difficult, H₂ can’t be detected directly but only by observing a ‘tracer’ gas, carbon monoxide (CO), that emits radio waves indicating the present of H₂.

Scientists have been using ATCA to study a massive, distant structure, called the Spiderweb, that is more than ten thousand million light-years away (10,000,000,000,000ly).

One team of scientists found at least sixty thousand million (60,000,000,000) solar masses of cold molecular hydrogen gas over a quarter of a million light-years (250,000ly), speculate that the cold molecular hydrogen is the star forming fuel for the region.  They also estimate that there is enough hydrogen in the region to form stars for the next 40 million years.

Using ACTA and the newly operational Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope in Chile, scientists can look for more of the H2 and make new discoveries from the distant past of the Universe.

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine.  As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman