In a groundbreaking discovery that has astrophysicists buzzing with excitement, the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) near Pune has uncovered the longest pair of plasma jets ever detected emanating from a supermassive black hole. These massive jets stretch an incredible 23 million light-years across, dwarfing even the size of our own Milky Way galaxy.
Published in the prestigious journal Nature, this discovery has shed new light on the behavior of supermassive black holes and their powerful jets. Prof. Yogesh Wadadekar from NCRA-TIFR emphasized the unprecedented nature of this finding and the crucial role played by the GMRT in making it possible.
The sheer scale of these jets, nicknamed “Porphyrion” after a giant from Greek mythology, has left researchers in awe. By utilizing the GMRT’s high-resolution observations and the Keck I optical telescope in Hawaii for distance measurements, scientists were able to trace these jets back to their origin galaxy when the universe was just 6.3 billion years old.
This discovery not only contributes to our understanding of cosmic phenomena but also highlights the importance of advanced radio telescopes like GMRT in unraveling the mysteries of the universe. The study of supermassive black hole jets has been a key area of research for GMRT, and the discovery of Porphyrion solidifies its reputation as a leader in astrophysics.
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