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Astronomers have discovered a unique object in the early Universe, a blazar, whose light has been traveling to Earth for 12,9 billion years. The discovery helps to understand how supermassive black holes were able to grow so quickly after the Big Bang. Blazars are active galactic nuclei that have powerful jets of particles, and one of them just so happens to be headed straight for Earth.
Astronomers say the existence of this blazar means that there could have been many more of these objects in the early universe. Researchers have long suspected that black holes with relativistic jets grow faster than those without them. The discovery of this blazar confirms this theory and indicates that the process of forming supermassive black holes may have been much more active than previously thought.
A team of astronomers led by Eduardo Bañados from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy used observations using various telescopes, including the Very Large Telescope (VLT), the XMM-Newton and Chandra space observatories, and the ALMA and NOEMA millimeter-wave radio telescopes. The data confirmed that J0410−0139 is indeed a blazar, making it the most distant known object of its type.
Scientists are comparing this discovery to winning the lottery. Since the blazar is pointed directly at Earth, it means that at that time there were many other active galactic nuclei with similar jets, but they did not come into the field of view of researchers. This forces us to reconsider models of the evolution of black holes and their influence on the early Universe.
The discovery of such objects not only provides a glimpse into the past, but also provides a better understanding of the mechanisms of formation and growth of supermassive black holes. Further studies may reveal new details about these giant structures and their role in the evolution of the cosmos.
Astronomers have discovered a unique object in the early Universe, a blazar, whose light has been traveling to Earth for 12,9 billion years. The discovery helps to understand how supermassive black holes were able to grow so quickly after the Big Bang. Blazars are active galactic nuclei that have powerful jets of particles, and one of them just so happens to be headed straight for Earth.
Astronomers say the existence of this blazar means that there could have been many more of these objects in the early universe. Researchers have long suspected that black holes with relativistic jets grow faster than those without them. The discovery of this blazar confirms this theory and indicates that the process of forming supermassive black holes may have been much more active than previously thought.
A team of astronomers led by Eduardo Bañados from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy used observations using various telescopes, including the Very Large Telescope (VLT), the XMM-Newton and Chandra space observatories, and the ALMA and NOEMA millimeter-wave radio telescopes. The data confirmed that J0410−0139 is indeed a blazar, making it the most distant known object of its type.
Scientists are comparing this discovery to winning the lottery. Since the blazar is pointed directly at Earth, it means that at that time there were many other active galactic nuclei with similar jets, but they did not come into the field of view of researchers. This forces us to reconsider models of the evolution of black holes and their influence on the early Universe.
The discovery of such objects not only provides a glimpse into the past, but also provides a better understanding of the mechanisms of formation and growth of supermassive black holes. Further studies may reveal new details about these giant structures and their role in the evolution of the cosmos.
