The largest black jets ever seen take over 140 galaxies in the Milky Way

The newly discovered, distant black hole jets are the largest of their kind ever observed. Created when the universe was less than half its current age, the pair collectively spewed energy equivalent to billions of suns across a space of 23 million light-years. .Porphyrion, named after a giant from Greek mythology, is a massive cosmic structure that formed when the universe was only 6.3 billion years old, and spans an area roughly 140 Milky Ways. Astronomers say further research may shed light on how galaxies formed in the earliest ages of the universe. The findings, published on September 18 in the journal Natureit also indicates that this may only be the “tip of the iceberg” for similar jet discoveries.

A snapshot in time

Incomprehensibly vast distances separate Earth from much of the universe, but the lights in the evening sky offer windows into the past. The images of Porphyrion taken today are snapshots of events that took place 7.5 billion years ago, by comparison. For this reason, astronomers can use this information to expand their knowledge of the basic conditions of the early universe, and how they influenced the creation of galaxies, stars and planets.

“Astronomers believe that galaxies and their central holes evolve together, and one important aspect of this is that the jets can spread large amounts of energy that affect the growth of their clusters. stars and other nearby clusters,” George Djorgovski, author and Caltech professor of astronomy and data science, said in a statement.

The researchers know that at least hundreds of black food processes had a certain influence in the ancient study of the universe with the release of the universe, many atoms, magnetic force and iron. But it was only recently that they began to realize the extent of their importance. This change occurred in recent years after using Europe’s Low Frequency Array radio telescope (LOFAR) to scan the atmosphere for supermassive black holes. The results were “shocking,” according to the team. At the time of Porphyrion’s discovery, more than 10,000 black hole jet systems had been documented to date.

“Big jets were known before we started this campaign, but we didn’t know there would be so many,” Martin Hardcastle, co-author of the study and professor of astrophysics at the University of Hertfordshire, said. in that announcement. Hardcastle explains that while he expected to find more buildings using LOFAR, “it was still really exciting to see so many of these things come out.”

When the giant Porphyrion formed

Porphyrion’s supermassive jets extend in polar directions from the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy about 10 times larger than the Milky Way at about 7.5 light-years from Earth . These powerful jets are about 40 percent wider than the best-known jet system, Alcyoneus, which the same team discovered in 2022 with LOFAR.

Porphyrion existed in the early universe when the interconnected energy bands that feed the growing galaxies—known as the cosmic web—were much closer than they are today. Because of this, Porphyrion’s large jets extended over much larger areas than they can today.

[Related: Astronomers discover Earth’s closest black hole.]

“Until now, these massive jet systems appear to be a strange phenomenon in the modern universe,” Martijn Oei, lead author and Caltech postdoctoral scholar, explained in a statement. If distant jets like this can reach the scale of the cosmic web, then every place in the universe may be affected by black hole activity at some point in the universe’s time.”

However, another surprising discovery about Porphyrion for astronomers was its “method”. When the black hole’s massive gravitational pull begins to pull and heat the surrounding matter, it begins to emit energy as radiation or jets. Ray-type black holes were often the core of the early universe, while jet-type versions are more common now. Despite its age and radiation levels, Porphyrion is still capable of producing multiple jets—indicating many similar, and possibly larger, megastructures may be there at the same time.

“We may be looking at the tip of the mountain,” Oei said. see them, so we believe there are many more behemoths out there.”