Keep an eye on this.
Indian astronomers have identified a group of quasars that are impressively larger than our Milky Way, launching jets of material that stretch across a staggering 7.2 million light-years.
This intriguing study was released recently in the Journal of Astrophysics.
Team member Subik Manik, a researcher from Midnapore City University, shared, “We’re talking about a 20 to 50 times stretch of Milky Way diameters,” explaining the magnitude of the newly discovered intergalactic cluster.
The research utilized data from the Giant Meter Radio Telescope (GMRT) located near Pune, India, which led to this discovery of what they’re calling a giant radio quasar.
What is a quasar?
Quasars are notably bright centers of active galaxies—essentially galaxies with central black holes that consume significant amounts of matter. They are situated in the far reaches of space.
This exceptionally large dark vortex rapidly expands by ingesting vast amounts of gas. Due to the nature of this process, material forms an “accretion” disk, which becomes extremely hot—reaching millions of degrees—and emits various types of light.
Interestingly, some material from this disk gets deflected away from the black hole, creating striking parallel jets. When this occurs alongside a disk, the core of the galaxy emits such brilliant light that it can be observed throughout space, acting as a cosmic beacon.
These jets can evolve into expansive plumes or “lobes” that extend significantly above and below the galaxy itself, earning them the title of giant radio quasars due to their powerful emission of radio waves.
Despite their size and brightness, spotting these intergalactic giants is quite challenging. Team leader Sabyasachi Pal remarked that detecting these phenomena can be tough because the faint glow connecting the two lobes often slips past recognition and appears incomplete.
Interestingly, the team found that around 14% of quasars seem to originate from galactic groups or nearby material ties. They also noted that as a quasar moves further away from the Milky Way, its jets tend to become more distorted and asymmetrical.
One explanation for this is that these distant quasars are actually situated further back in time, existing in an early universe filled with denser gas and various orbital-distorting obstacles.
Regardless of the scenario, this discovery offers valuable insights into cosmic phenomena.
“Giant radio jets provide crucial information for understanding both the later stages of quasar evolution and the intergalactic medium, which contains the tenuous gas surrounding radio lobes millions of light-years from the central black hole,” Pal explained.
A space enthusiast expressed surprise, commenting, “That wide jet is quite unusual.”
