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An international team of researchers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and other telescopes has discovered the power source illuminating a so-called Lyman-alpha Blob -- a rare, brightly glowing, and enormous concentration of gas in the distant universe. Until now, astronomers wondered why these huge clouds of gas shined so brightly.
The answer, in this example at least, appears to be two galaxies at the heart of the blob undergoing furious star formation and lighting up their surroundings. These large galaxies, which are destined to eventually merge into a single elliptical galaxy, are in the midst of a swarm of smaller galaxies. This appears to be an early phase in the formation of a massive cluster of galaxies.Image credit: J.Geach/D.Narayanan/R.Crain
