Black hole shoots jet 23 million light years long

Astronomers have discovered the most distant pair of jets from a black hole ever observed, measuring 23 million light years in length, equivalent to 140 galaxies lined up end to end.

Jets erupting from a black hole. Photo: NEW ATLATS

The jets, named Porphyrion after a giant in Greek mythology, are massive beams of ionized matter ejected from a black hole at nearly the speed of light. Their source is a supermassive black hole 7.5 billion light years from Earth that has the power of a trillion stars.

The pair of jets were discovered among 10,000 others in a survey by the European Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope. After spotting the first signs of Porphyrion, the team conducted follow-up observations using India's Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) in Arizona to trace the jets' origin to a giant galaxy about 10 times the size of the Milky Way.

“We may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg,” said Martijn Oei, lead author of the study. “The LOFAR survey only covers 15 percent of the sky.”

LAM DIEN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/ho-den-phun-luong-tia-dai-23-trieu-nam-anh-sang-post759826.html