Supermassive black holes can leave a trail of energetic particles that astronomers are able to detect using radio telescopes. Usually the radio emissions from these particles fade away and become invisible. However, in the merging galaxy cluster Abell 1033, the Low Frequency Array discovered that some of these particles can be rejuvenated and start shining again when observed at very low radio frequencies.
By Francesco de Gasperin &Tim Shimwell
Published by the editorial team, 6 June 2020
On 12 June 2020, LOFAR celebrates its tenth anniversary. The radio telescope is the world’s largest low frequency instrument and is one of the pathfinders of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which is currently being developed. Throughout its ten years of operation, LOFAR has made some amazing discoveries. It has been a key part of groundbreaking research, both in astronomy and engineering. Here we feature some – but definitely not all – of these past highlights, with surely more to come in the future.