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MUSE reveals the first images of the cosmic web where galaxies are born

In a study published today, conducted using the MUSE instrument, the first images of the cosmic web in which galaxies are born are finally revealed to us.

Hydrogen filament discovered by MUSE

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The name is poetic, and the discovery fascinating, although the "cosmic web" made up of filaments of gas in which galaxies are born has long been predicted by major cosmological models (including the big bang model), until now we have never been able to directly observe it. This has now been achieved using the extraordinary MUSE instrument installed on ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile, which has managed to capture the faint glow of the gas forming these filaments.

A holy grail which has now been attained by an international team led by Roland Bacon, a CNRS researcher at the Lyon Astrophysics Research Centre (CNRS / University of Lyon 1 / ENS of Lyon), the results are presented in a study published on Thursday 18 March in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. From these images of several filaments as they appeared one to two billion years after the big bang, a crucial period for understanding how galaxies form in this cosmic web, we can assume the existence of many previously undiscovered dwarf galaxies. To accomplish this, the team took the bold step of pointing ESO's Very Large Telescope equipped with the MUSE instrument and the telescope's adaptive optics system, at a single region of the sky for over 140 hours. Together, these instruments form one of the most powerful systems in the world, capable of revealing objects that even Hubble space telescope could not capture.

Our photo and video reports tell the story of the development and deployment of this extraordinary instrument, as well as a profile of its designer, Roland Bacon.

Press release

Un des filaments d’hydrogène (en bleu) découvert par MUSE

First images of the cosmic web reveal a myriad of unsuspected dwarf galaxies

Slideshow from CNRS Le Journal (only available in French)

The history of the Universe soon revealed

Within 35 minutes the film explores the inspiration and the story behind MUSE, why it was needed how it came into life over a nine year long development phase. It highlights the needed international European cooperation to realise the project and the participation of some of the hundreds of researchers, technicians and engineers involved. The innovative technology of MUSE and the front-line science done with it are discussed as well. Also the delicate installation process and the moment of…

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A portrait of Roland Bacon, astrophysicist at the Lyon Astrophysical Research Centre (CRAL). It is in the Atacama desert, in Chile, at the foot of the European Observatory of Cerro Paranal that Bacon shares with us his personal vision of scientific research between pure science and poetry. He looks back at his career path, professional encounters and questions that led to the development of new projects. The MUSE (Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) instrument is an example and was chosen to…

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With an average of over one scientific article a day being published, the Very Large Telescope (VLT) is the astronomic observatory with the biggest scientific output in the world. As shown in this video, 2015 is to be a year abounding with discoveries especially with the Muse and Sphere instruments produced in French laboratories and mounted in Chile over the last year. This video was created from VLT, as a gateway to the stars. It is a film by Roland Bacon, astrophysicist, to be viewed via…

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Frédéric Gonte, Instrumentation Systems Engineer at the Paranal site, presents the European Southern Observatory (ESO) which has been standing for 15 years in the heart of the Atacama desert in Chile. It includes ten telescopes: four VLTs (Very Large Telescopes), four telescopes dedicated to interferometry, two to sky surveillance and a multitude of instruments for a precise observation of the sky. This film is an opportunity to present the new equipment that will be installed in the…

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