Скачать или смотреть What Is the Lyman-Alpha Forest? 🌲📉

The Lyman-alpha forest is a series of absorption lines found in the light spectra of distant quasars. These lines are caused by intergalactic hydrogen gas absorbing specific ultraviolet light — namely, Lyman-alpha photons. 🌌🔍

As the quasar’s light travels through the universe, it passes through countless clouds of neutral hydrogen scattered between galaxies. Each of these clouds absorbs a tiny slice of light at slightly different redshifts, depending on how far away the cloud is. The result? A dense, forest-like pattern of absorption lines that maps the structure of the early universe. 🌲📊

Astronomers use the Lyman-alpha forest to:

Study the distribution of matter in the universe

Probe the expansion of space

Investigate dark matter and cosmic structure formation

Measure the composition and temperature of intergalactic gas

It’s like a cosmic barcode — an indirect but powerful way to visualize the invisible threads that shape galaxies and cosmic webs. 🧬💫