Scientists have discovered the largest radio jet ever seen in the early universe, located at a distance of over 200,000 light-years from Earth. The detection was made using a combination of telescopes, including the international Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) Telescope and the Hobby Eberly Telescope.
The radio jet is formed by the energy released as gas and dust fall into a massive black hole at the center of a distant galaxy. This process can create luminous galactic cores, called quasars, that expel jets of energetic matter. The team’s findings provide crucial insight into the timing and mechanisms behind the formation of the first large-scale jets in our universe.
The radio jet is remarkable not only for its size but also for its asymmetrical shape, with one side being brighter and more distant than the other. This suggests that an extreme environment may be affecting the jet’s behavior.
Using data from the Gemini Near-Infrared Spectrograph (GNIRS), the team was able to determine the mass of the quasar, which is estimated to be 450 million times that of our sun. This information provides valuable insights into the formation history of the quasar and its place in the evolution of galaxies.
The discovery of this massive radio jet pushes back our understanding of when such powerful jets first appeared in the universe. It also highlights the importance of combining the power of multiple telescopes to detect distant objects that are otherwise invisible due to background noise.
The LOFAR Telescope played a crucial role in detecting the radio jet, and its synergies with other instruments demonstrate its capabilities. The findings provide new questions about how radio-bright quasars like J1601+3102 differ from other quasars and what circumstances create such powerful jets.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-02-astronomers-reveal-largest-radio-jet.html