Astronomers are puzzled by the sudden appearance of a powerful jet emanating from a spiral galaxy, defying expectations of how such jets form. The Hubble Space Telescope image reveals several galaxies 5.94 billion light-years away, but it’s what’s not visible that’s caught astronomers’ attention – radio emissions indicating a “newborn” jet.
The central galaxy, J0742+2704, is home to a massive black hole over 400 million times our sun and was expected to be an elliptical galaxy. However, instead of the predicted shape, the spiral host galaxy boasts a swirl of arms seemingly unaffected by mergers with other galaxies.
“We don’t really understand the physics of these quasars and their jets,” said Olivia Achenbach, researcher at the US Naval Academy. The study’s findings suggest that jets can be triggered by less dramatic interactions between galaxies, rather than requiring major mergers.
The discovery has sparked interest not only among astronomers but also the U.S. Navy, which relies on quasars as navigational beacons in GPS-constrained environments. By studying these galactic jets, researchers aim to better understand and predict their elusive nature.
New observations will confirm the distances of the galaxies involved, providing more insight into their “cosmic dance.” The study highlights the importance of continued research, demonstrating that discovering something remarkable can send scientists on a new path of discovery.
Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/hubble-space-telescope/mysterious-spiral-galaxy-jet-puzzles-astronomers-at-first-i-thought-i-completely-messed-up