China's FAST Radio Telescope Detects Biggest Atomic Cloud Ever Discovered

China's FAST Radio Telescope Detects Biggest Atomic Cloud Ever Discovered

An international team, led by Chinese scientists, has discovered the biggest atomic cloud in the universe—a surprising finding that could help researchers better understand the origins of galaxies. The cloud, made up of hydrogen atoms, measures about two million light-years across and is 20 times larger than our Milky Way galaxy, according to a paper published in the scientific journal Nature.

Astronomers from China, Europe, and the United States found the cloud after they pointed the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST)—the world's largest single-dish radio telescope—in the direction of a group of galaxies known as Stephan's Quintet. The FAST radio telescope is the size of 30 football fields.

The cloud’s location is also unusual as it is relatively far from the heart of Stephan’s Quintet. Most hydrogen atoms are found inside or near a galaxy as they are the building blocks of those galaxies and are constantly being combined under gravity to form molecules and eventually stars.

The finding might mean that other massive gaseous structures lurk elsewhere in the universe and can only be observed by powerful radio telescopes like FAST.

Credit: China Global Television Network (CGTN)

Duration: 47 seconds

Release Date: October 20, 2022

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