One of the largest black hole jets in the sky has been found.

The jet shoots away from a black hole with enormous energy and is almost the speed of light. It doesn't always get its own way in space.

Taking a closer look

The universe is 93 million light-years away from us. Our galaxy would be a suburb if it were a house.

With an ordinary telescope, we can see that its starlight is ten times brighter than our own.

A network of 36 linked radio dishes forming a single super-telescope was observed by us.

The radio waves show a jet of matter in the sky. If we could see it in the night sky, it would be bigger than the Moon.

These are some of the biggest known jets in the sky because of their huge size and close proximity to the famous constellation of Sagittarius.

Shock diamonds

What did we see when ASKAP got a close up view of an extragalactic jet?

The research is being published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. There is evidence that the matter between the galaxies is pushing back on the side of the jet.

The process is similar to jet engines. The ambient pressure pushes the exhaust fumes from the sides. The jet expands and contracts as it moves.

The bright spots in the jet are called "shock diamonds" because of their shape. The flow glows more brightly when it's compressed.

An image of a black hole jet and, below it, a methane rocket blast
Black hole jets from NGC2663 compared to a jet engine. Top image: observations from the ASKAP radio telescope. Bottom: a methane rocket successfully being tested in the Mojave Desert. Note the patterns of compression. (Mike Massee/XCOR)

Biggest one yet

Diamonds have been seen in smaller jets. We have seen jets slam into dense clouds of gas and light them up. The jets being restricted from the sides makes it harder to see.

We haven't seen this effect on such large scales.

There is enough matter in the universe to push against the side of the jet. The jet causes the matter to heat up.

This is a feedback loop that1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556

The jets affect how gas is formed. The direct illustration of this interaction is exciting.

A new type of mysterious astronomy object called an " Odd Radio Circle" has been identified by the EMU survey. There will soon be many more discoveries.

We will be able to better understand how black holes shape the universe.

A professor, a lecturer, a PhD candidate, and a professor are all from Western Sydney University.

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