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  • The Kast Spectrograph was originally designed by UC Santa Cruz astronomer Joseph Miller and built in the Lick Observatory shops at UCSC. Pictured is electronics technician Barry Alcott (now retired) working on the instrument, which has been in operation since early 1992. Photo by Mike Bolte.

Astronomers have detected the presence of very distant and massive galaxies, which emit large amounts of radio waves.

These galaxies are thought to be galaxies at early stages of evolution. Astronomers study these galaxies to determine the source of their radio emissions and to understand evolution of very massive galaxies. The spectra are produced by the Kast spectrograph on the Shane 3-meter telescope.