What To Know
- Astronomers have set a new record by discovering a blazar, a supermassive black hole with a jet aimed directly at Earth.
- Unveiling the distant cosmosScientists continue to probe the layers of light in the observable cosmos by observing objects as far away as possible in space and thus as early as possible in the history of the observable Universe.
- A groundbreaking discovery through advanced technologyThe most distant blazar known today has been observed as it existed just under 800 million years after the Big Bang and is cataloged as VLASS J041009.
Astronomers have set a new record by discovering a blazar, a supermassive black hole with a jet aimed directly at Earth. Designated as VLASS J041009.05−013919.88 (J0410−0139), it is the farthest blazar ever identified, providing a rare glimpse into the epoch of reionization, when the Universe was less than 800 million years old.
unveiling the distant cosmos
Scientists continue to probe the layers of light in the observable cosmos by observing objects as far away as possible in space and thus as early as possible in the history of the observable Universe. To unlock the secrets of galaxy formation and evolution, they track cosmic beacons known as quasars across various wavelengths for complementary information.
The quasi-stellar radio sources, or “quasars,” first named by Chinese astrophysicist Hong-Yee Chiu in 1964, have been intriguing researchers for decades. These distant objects appear like very bright stars in telescopic observations but are known today as examples of what are called active galactic nuclei (AGN).
- Quasars shine at least five trillion times brighter than our Sun!
- Their prodigious energy comes from matter accretion by rotating supermassive black holes, potentially containing millions to billions of solar masses.
a groundbreaking discovery through advanced technology
The most distant blazar known today has been observed as it existed just under 800 million years after the Big Bang and is cataloged as VLASS J041009.05−013919.88 (J0410−0139). This discovery was made primarily through radio astronomy using an upgraded version of the legendary Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA).
This array of combined radio telescopes forms a virtual instrument of large size for high-resolution observations and featured prominently in the movie adaptation of Carl Sagan’s book “Contact.” The VLA now participates in projects like Seti but has been extensively used since September 7, 2017, for the VLA Sky Survey (VLASS) which maps 80% of the sky over seven years.
- VLASS aims to list about 10 million radio sources.
- This survey will help scientists image phenomena like supernova explosions masked by thick dust clouds.
a laboratory for astrophysics and cosmology
An article published in Nature, also available on arXiv, explains that VLASS J041009.05−013919.88 is an active galactic nucleus example created by a supermassive black hole containing approximately 700 million solar masses.
This blazar offers a unique laboratory to study how jets and black holes interact with their environments during one of the Universe’s most transformative epochs. Its intense radiation likely contributed to reionizing neutral hydrogen and helium atoms formed around 380,000 years post-Big Bang.
- The discovery challenges existing models of black hole formation in early cosmos dominated by dark matter.
- It raises questions about rapid supermassive black hole growth during Universal infancy.
rethinking dark matter and cosmic laws
Some propose abandoning elusive dark matter particles’ existence in favor of modifying Newtonian celestial mechanics laws within Mond theory frameworks based on observations from telescopes like James Webb.
In any case, this blazar represents an unparalleled opportunity to explore jet-black hole-environment interactions during pivotal transformations shaping our Universe today according to experts involved with its study such as those at NSF National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO).
