NASA‘s Chandra X-ray Observatory has detected one of the most powerful black hole jets ever observed. The jets were emanating from a galaxy 11.6 billion light-years away from the earth. This jet is formed during the universe’s “cosmic noon” which is a period about three billion years after the Big Bang. At that time, galaxies were rapidly evolving. Black hole jet has astonished astronomers with its immense energy and speed. It is illuminated by the dense cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation of the early universe and provides unprecedented insights into black hole behaviour and galactic development during the universe’s most dynamic phase.
What is a black hole jet according to NASA
A black hole jet is a powerful stream of particles and energy releasing from the regions around a supermassive black hole. Most of the black holes themselves do not emit anything, the intense gravitational forces around them cause surrounding matter to form a spinning accretion disk. As this material heats up and interacts with magnetic fields, some of it is funnelled away from the poles of the black hole at near-light speeds which creates narrow and focused jets. These jets can extend for hundreds of thousands of light-years and are capable of influencing the evolution of entire galaxies by dispersing energy and matter across vast cosmic galaxies.
NASA’s Chandra captured black hole over 300,000 light years away
Astronomers focused on two supermassive black holes, one is J1405+0415 and another is J1610+1811 Each of them is releasing jets stretching over 300,000 light-years. These black holes existed when the universe was just a quarter of its current age. The powerful jets were spotted thanks to Chandra’s ability to detect X-rays produced when electrons in the jets collided with the dense CMB photons, boosting them into the X-ray range.
Jet particle travelling with speed of light
Analysis revealed that particles in the jets were traveling at astonishing speeds between 92% and 99% the speed of light. The jet from J1610+1811 carries about half as much energy as the intense radiation from gas orbiting the black hole, making it one of the most energetic jets ever recorded at such distances.
The angle of viewing is a major factor in capturing jets
Understanding a jet’s true nature depends heavily on its angle relative to Earth. Jets aimed toward us appear brighter due to relativistic effects. To overcome this bias, researchers developed a new statistical method that factored in the overrepresentation of such jets in our observations. Through 10,000 simulations, they estimated the viewing angles to be about 9 degrees for J1405+0415 and 11 degrees for J1610+1811.
What are the implications for cosmic evolution
This discovery gives astronomers vital clues about the growth and influence of black holes during the universe’s peak period of star and galaxy formation. The interaction of these jets with their environment likely shaped early galaxy evolution and helps scientists better understand how energy was distributed across vast cosmic distances.
Presented and published
These findings were presented by lead researcher Jaya Maithil of the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian at the 246th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Anchorage, Alaska. The full study will be published in The Astrophysical Journal. A preprint already available online.
