Free Astronomy Magazine September-October 2026

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2026 servatory, the galaxy is the most plausible electromagnetic counter- part yet identified for that event. Officially designated JCMT0402− 0424 and nicknamed “Shadow Blaster,” the galaxy is so deeply ob- scured by dust that it is nearly invis- ible at optical wavelengths. ALMA observations showed that its light A hidden starburst galaxy linked to a high-energy neutrino by ALMA Observatory Nicolás Lira, Jill Malusky, Bárbara Ferreira A stronomers using the Ata- cama Large Millimeter/sub- millimeter Array (ALMA) have revealed the hidden structure of an intensely star-forming galaxy as it appeared nearly 11 billion years ago. Located in the same patch of sky as a high-energy neutrino de- tected by the IceCube Neutrino Ob- T he above infographic shows how the gravitational lensing ef- fect works: when a very massive foreground galaxy bends spacetime, acting as a cosmic magnifying glass that enlarges and distorts the image of a more distant galaxy behind it. [ALMA Observatory]