Telescopes worldwide have captured a groundbreaking discovery of a colossal radio jet emanating from a quasar dating back to the first 1 billion years of the universe. This remarkable jet, twice the width of our Milky Way galaxy, represents the largest ever detected in the early universe, as revealed by astronomers.
While radio jets are not uncommon in our cosmic vicinity, they have remained elusive in the distant early universe due to the obstructing cosmic microwave background originating from the Big Bang. The extreme nature of this object has enabled its observation from Earth, despite its considerable distance, noted lead author.
Observatories in Europe, Hawaii, and Texas collaborated on the study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. The double-sided radio wave spans an estimated minimum of 200,000 light-years, with a light-year equivalent to 5.8 trillion miles.
The quasar fueling this extraordinary jet was formed when the universe was merely 9% of its current age, within the initial 1.2 billion years. Quasars, among the brightest entities in the universe, are galactic cores characterized by gas and dust falling into a black hole, releasing immense energy that renders them exceptionally luminous.
The mass of this quasar is comparable to 450 million times that of our sun, housing a black hole of moderate size.
