Astronomers capture strange image of 'dancing ghosts' in the night sky

[Judi Lynn]

By Ben Turner - Staff Writer about 1 hour ago

Astronomers have traced the source of the image to two distant galaxies.



The two ghostly figures, which appear to be dancing with each other, were first spotted during a pilot survey conducted by the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder radio telescope. (Image credit: Jayanne English and Ray Norris/EMU/Dark Energy Survey)

Astronomers have spotted the outline of what appear to be two ghostly figures dancing among the stars.

Located about a billion light-years from Earth, the structures, formally named PKS 2130-538, have been nicknamed the "dancing ghosts" and were discovered as part of the first deep-sky search using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope. The search was a part of the first pilot survey by the Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) project.

In a new paper describing the structures, the researchers who spotted the ethereal figures said they are unlike anything ever seen.

"When we first saw the 'dancing ghosts,' we had no idea what they were," lead author Ray Norris, an astrophysics professor at Western Sydney University in Australia, said in a statement.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/dancing-ghosts-spotted

[Goonch]

1. ;-{)

[niyad]

2. Utterly fascinating. Thank you so much for sharing.