Astounding Discovery: 53 Quasars Unleash Jets 50 Times Wider Than Our Milky Way!

Astronomers have made an exciting discovery: 53 new supermassive black holes, known as quasars, are blasting out jets of matter at nearly the speed of light. These jets stretch an incredible 7.2 million light-years, roughly 50 times wider than our Milky Way galaxy.

These behemoths, called Giant Radio Quasars, are part of a larger group of 369 radio quasars recently identified by Indian astronomers using the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT). Situated near Pune, India, the GMRT is made up of 30 dishes that provide exceptional data, allowing researchers to spot these distant, powerful objects.

Souvik Manik, a researcher from Midnapore City College, emphasized the vastness of these jets. “The sizes of these radio jets are not comparable to our solar system or even our galaxy,” he said. This shows just how massive these phenomena really are.

While we know that supermassive black holes sit at the center of large galaxies, not all of them are active or bright. For a black hole to shine as a quasar, it needs to pull in a lot of gas and dust from its surroundings. This matter forms what is known as an accretion disk, where intense gravitational forces heat up the material, making it glow brightly across various wavelengths of light.

Interestingly, black holes are notoriously inefficient feeders. Not all the surrounding matter ends up consumed. Instead, powerful magnetic fields direct some of this material out of the black hole’s poles, creating fast-moving jets. As these jets travel millions of light-years, they can expand into massive structures, releasing strong radio waves along the way.

Sabyasachi Pal, another astronomer involved in the study, noted that these jets provide valuable insights into both the black holes themselves and the space between galaxies. He pointed out that identifying these structures is challenging due to the faint emissions that connect the far-reaching lobes.

The scientists also found that nearly 14% of these Giant Radio Quasars exist in clusters or near cosmic filaments of gas and dust, regions where galaxies gather. Netai Bhukta from Sidho Kanho Birsha University mentioned that the environment significantly influences how these jets evolve. Jet behavior can change based on the density of the surrounding gas, affecting their growth and shape.

Another intriguing observation is the asymmetry of these jets. Often, one jet is longer or brighter than the other. Sushanta K. Mondal, also from Sidho Kanho Birsha University, explained that this unevenness suggests the jets are facing different cosmic conditions. One jet might encounter dense gas, slowing its expansion, while the other jets freely through less crowded space.

Notably, the researchers found that quasars farther away tend to exhibit greater jet asymmetry compared to those closer to Earth. This could indicate that we’re seeing these jets during a chaotic early universe, where space was fuller and more turbulent.

This research, published in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, opens a new chapter in our understanding of these cosmic giants. As we continue to explore the universe, studies like this remind us of the complexity and wonder lurking in the depths of space.

For further reading on supermassive black holes, you can check out this Space.com article.

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