Images Show Entire "Universe" of Circular Structure That Can Only Be Seen as Radio Signals

The vast realm probed by radio astronomers is one invisible to the naked eye, and even most kinds of telescopes. Now, thanks to the latest advances in radio observatories, scientists are uncovering an entire "low surface brightness universe" teeming with circular curiosities, according to a team of researchers from Australia — including an entirely new class of cosmic object. "It's comprised of radio sources so faint they have never been seen before, each with their own unique physical properties," writes Miroslav Filipovic, an astronomer at Western Sydney University, and his colleagues in an essay for The Conversation. "As we study the sky with telescopes that record radio signals rather than light, we end up seeing a lot of circles." Allowing astronomers to delve into this uncharted realm include the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), which is made up of 36 powerful antennas, and the South African MeerKAT radio telescope, comprising 64 antennas. Both are continu ... Read full article.