'MACE' Observatory Detects 'Blast From The Past' Way Before Earth Was Born

Indian scientists recently detected what could be one of the farthest known astronomical objects emitting gamma rays in the universe. The world's highest Gamma-Ray Telescope, MACE, situated at Hanle in Ladakh has detected a 'blast from the past', well before the Earth and/or the Solar System were even born.

Scientists from the Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai part of the Department of Atomic Energy, have detected an explosion from a galaxy, of what is also called a Gamma Ray flare. They say it comes from a source eight billion light years away. The discovery, made on Republic Day this year, provides a new understanding of how the Universe is made.

A 'light year' is a measure of distance and not time. One light year means the distance covered by a ray of light or photon to travel in a year. Incidentally, a photon or a ray of light takes nearly eight minutes to travel from the sun to Earth, which is nearly 150 million kilometers away.

Scientists estimate that the Earth was formed some 4.5 billion years ago. Extrapolating from this finding, scientists suggest that this intense flare is at least 3.5 billion years older than even the time of the birth of the Earth.

Scientists from BARC report that 'in a ground breaking observation, the Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) telescope located at Hanle has detected an intense gamma-ray flare from the distant quasar OP 313, also known as B2 1308+326'.

The scientists report that 'it is approximately 8 billion light-years away from Earth. This means the light we observe today from OP 313 began its journey when the universe was less than half its current age!' The finding has since then been observed by other Gamma Ray telescopes like those in Russia and the USA.

In the cold desert of Ladakh at Hanle is a telescope like no other, a special robotic eye in the sky to track some of the most energetic phenomenon like the birth and death of stars. Special instruments are required to study these exploding stars.

The Department of Atomic Energy established the Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment or MACE a cutting-edge gamma-ray telescope for very high-energy astronomy. It is indigenously developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai.

About 4,300 above sea level, in Ladakh's Hanle, the massive telescope is always waiting for signals as India tries to decode some of the universe's greatest mysteries such as black holes, supernovae and dark matter.

The MACE (Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment Telescope) has a diameter of 21 meters, weighs 180 tonnes and has 356 mirror panels. It is the largest telescope in Asia and the highest in the world. It is armed with a high-resolution imaging camera that weighs about 1200 kg. It is being used to study black holes and dark matter.