Astronomers have discovered two massive black holes blasting out powerful jets into space, illuminated by the remnant glow of the Big Bang. The black holes, located 11.6 billion and 11.7 billion lightyears away from Earth, are seen as they existed 11.6 billion years ago, a period known as ‘cosmic noon’.
At this time, the universe was just 3 billion years old, and most galaxies and supermassive black holes were growing at an unprecedented rate. The jets, which stretch over 300,000 lightyears, collide with Cosmic Microwave Background radiation, boosting their energy and causing them to glow in X-ray.
The Chandra X-ray Observatory captured images of these events, showing purple and white signals that are visible only because the particles in the jets are moving at nearly the speed of light. One black hole, J1405+0415, has particles flying between 95% and 99% the speed of light, while another, J1610+1811, has particles traveling between 92% and 98% the speed of light.
This discovery provides a unique window into the universe’s early history, when supermassive black holes were actively growing and producing powerful jets. The study used the Chandra X-ray Observatory in conjunction with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to gather data on these events, shedding new light on the mysteries of cosmic evolution.
Source: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/jets-black-holes-j14050415-j16101811