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LOFAR discovers largest black hole jets ever seen

The LOFAR radio telescope has found the largest pair of eruptions ever observed shooting from a supermassive black hole.

An illustration of the largest black hole jets ever observed. These eruptions, named Porphyrion after the mythological Greek giant, span roughly 23 million light years. They were observed using the LOFAR radio telescope.
An illustration of the largest black hole jets ever observed. Credits: E. Wernquist/D. Nelson (IllustrisTNG Collaboration)/M. Oei

Eruptions from a black hole

These enormous jets, nicknamed ‘Porphyrion’, stretch across 23 million light years – the equivalent of 140 Milky Way galaxies lined up. This remarkable discovery emerged during LOFAR’s large-scale Two-metre Sky Survey, which uncovered more than 8,000 previously hidden giant jet systems.

Massive outflows

LOFAR’s exceptional ability to capture both wide views of the sky and detect faint radio waves made this finding possible. The jets originate from a distant
galaxy from when the universe was much younger, suggesting that these massive outflows shaped early galaxy formation more than scientists had previously thought.

With only 15% of the sky combed through so far, many more giant jets likely await discovery. The LOFAR radio telescope was developed and is operated and maintained on behalf of the LOFAR ERIC by ASTRON.

Gebouw van ASTRON in Dwingeloo
Gebouw ASTRON in Dwingeloo. Credits Harry Cock

More information

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