ALMA Detects a 26-Light-Year Molecular Jet from LMC P3

Astronomers detected a 26-light-year molecular jet near LMC P3, a mysterious source of gamma rays.

LMC P3 is in the Large Magellanic Cloud and was observed with ALMA, a radio telescope array in Chile.

The system contains a giant star and a compact object, which could be a black hole or a neutron star.

The gas in the jet is warmer than the surrounding cloud, suggesting it is being heated by a high-energy stream of particles.

That stream could help explain how LMC P3 produces gamma rays.

The discovery strengthens the case for a black hole, but does not settle what the compact object is; an earlier explanation involving pulsar winds was also under consideration.