The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope in Pune detects a radio signal originating from an extremely distant galaxy

The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Pune, India, has discovered a radio signal coming from a very far-off galaxy.

The discovery of these signals was made by astronomers from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and McGill University in Canada. The scholarly publication Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society has published the findings.

This discovery is significant because it represents a turning point in the history of human astronomy because the signal travelled the greatest astronomical distance to get to us.

‘The astronomical distance over which such a signal has been picked up is the largest so far by a large margin. This is also the first confirmed detection of strong lensing of 21 cm emission from a galaxy,’ said the IISc in a statement.

The signal reportedly originated from the atomic hydrogen of an ‘extremely’ distant galaxy. As per IISc, atomic hydrogen is the basic fuel required for star formation in a galaxy.