Archive · 31 May 2025
Astronomers Discover Largest, Oldest Black Hole Jet Ever
Imagine a super powerful black hole in space that shoots out giant jets of energy, almost twice the size of our own galaxy!
Scientists discovered this jet from a black hole that's more than 12 billion years old, which means they're seeing what the universe looked like when it was very young.
This jet is powered by a black hole, which has about 450 million times the mass of our Sun.
This discovery changes what we thought about how these jets form.
Scientists used special telescopes to find this jet, which helps us understand how galaxies grow and change over time.
Astronomers discovered the most massive and oldest black hole jet ever seen.
The jet is over 200,000 light-years long, nearly twice the size of the Milky Way.
The light from the quasar began its journey over 12 billion years ago.
The quasar is powered by a black hole with a mass of approximately 450 million Suns.
The discovery challenges previous theories about black hole jet formation.
- Who
- Astronomers using the LOFAR, GNIRS, and Hobby-Eberly Telescope.
- What
- The largest and oldest black hole jet ever observed.
- When
- The light from the quasar began its journey to Earth more than 12 billion years ago.
- Where
- Observed from a quasar, approximately 12 billion light-years away.
- Why
- To study the early universe and black hole behavior.
- Object Name
- Quasar J1601+3102
- Jet Length
- Over 200,000 light-years
- Black Hole Mass
- Approximately 450 million times the Sun's mass
- Distance
- More than 12 billion light-years
- Telescopes Used
- LOFAR, GNIRS, Hobby-Eberly Telescope
