Scientists detect a distant megamaser, Nkalakatha
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MeerKAT telescope detects a distant megamaser
MeerKAT telescope has detected a megamaser that is 5 billion lightyears away from Earth.
What is MeerKAT?
MeerKAT is known as Karoo Array Telescope. It is a radio telescope, which consists of 64 antennas in Northern Cape of South Africa.
What is megamaser?
A megamaser is an astronomical laser made of microwave light.
Newly discovered megamaser
Scientists have studied the image sent by the MeerKAT telescope. They stated that it is the most distant megamaser known to date. It was detected through one night’s observation.
They come in different flavours but the newly detected megamaser is the most common type. It contains the signal of hydroxyl. Hydroxyl is a molecule made up of one atom of oxygen and one atom of hydrogen.
Megarmasers are formed by the collision of galaxies as they make new stars and megamasers. Hydroxyl megamasers act like bright lights emitting from the collision.
Naming the megamaser
This project is called Looking at the Distant Universe with the MeerKAT Array. Scientists have made named the megamaser Nkalakatha which means big boss in isiZulu (a South African language).
Watch this informative video of Nkalakatha posted on Youtube:
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