A SWINDON-based research council has played its part in obtaining remarkable new pictures of the final frontier, more than 70 million light years from earth.
The Particle, Physics and Astronomy Council (PPARC), based in North Star Avenue, has helped fund a new space-age instrument, the Integral Field Unit (IFU) and the results are amazing.
The council, which is responsible for the funding of astronomy in the UK, has handed over more than £150,000 to researchers at Durham University who built the IFU and fitted it to the giant multi-million pound Gemini telescope based in Hawaii.
The first 3-D images obtained from the telescope reveal trails of gas and stars at the centre of a turbulent galaxy - NGC 1068 - dispelling the myth that space is just a dark, serene and peaceful place.
The resulting data has been transformed into an animation that dramatically unravels the internal dynamics of the galaxy, including the interactions of a pair of galactic-scale jets that spew material for thousands of light years away from a suspected black hole at the centre of the galaxy.
Professor Ian Halliday, chief executive of PPARC, said: "The IFU will provide astronomers with a powerful new tool to probe the mysterious cosmic cauldrons of the Universe.
"The UK has almost a 25 per cent share in the twin Gemini telescopes and it's significant that British scientists have played such a major role in this innovative instrument. It clearly endorses the UK's contribution to such international projects."
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