Super-Fast New Telescope Solves Star Birth Mystery
ALMA Galaxies This image shows six of the most fertile galaxies in the early universe as seen by ALMA (in red). The red circles indicate the regions where galaxies had been detected by a less-sensitive telescope setup called APEX. The earlier telescope did not have sharp enough images to pin down the identity of the galaxies, but ALMA does. The ALMA observations, at submillimeter wavelengths, are overlaid on an infrared view of the region as seen by the Spitzer Space Telescope (blue). ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), APEX (MPIfR/ESO/OSO), J. Hodge et al., A. Weiss et al., NASA Spitzer Science Center ALMA is the best way to see these births in super-fertile galaxies, which helps scientists understand how galaxies form. Birth is messy, for stars as for anything else, and it can be hard for astronomers to see through the dirt and crud. This is especially true in distant, very old galaxies, which also...