For about 15 years, a powerful radio telescope on Earth recorded data about a distant location in space billions of light-years away. Recently, astronomers stitched together these observations to reveal an image that bears an eerie resemblance to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings symbol – the “Eye of Sauron.” However, this cosmic wonder is not a supernatural entity but a blazar, a type of quasar with supermassive black holes at its center.
Quasars are extremely luminous centers of active galaxies powered by massive black holes, while blazars have these same black holes but with jets pointing directly towards our planet. This unique orientation makes blazars appear even brighter than quasars, and the “Eye of Sauron” is one such example. Scientists have reconstructed an image of this blazar using data from the Very Long Baseline Array, revealing a stunning view of its toroidal magnetic field and jet.
This discovery not only offers insights into the dynamics of these objects but also sheds light on the origin of high-energy neutrinos. Neutrinos are “ghost particles” that penetrate the universe yet remain difficult to detect. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory discovered this blazar, which is believed to be one of the brightest sources of gamma rays and cosmic neutrinos ever observed.
The study confirms that active galactic nuclei with supermassive black holes not only accelerate electrons but also protons, explaining the origin of high-energy neutrinos. This breakthrough allows scientists to peer into the heart of these jets, gaining valuable information about the behavior of these objects. The discovery has sparked excitement among astronomers and may help us better understand the mysteries of the universe.
Source: https://www.space.com/astronomy/this-real-eye-of-sauron-spits-out-ghost-particles-in-space-heres-what-it-looks-like