Astronomers discover ultrapowerful black hole jet as bright as 10 trillion suns lit by Big Bang's afterglow

image via Space.com

June 15, 2025, 10:00 AM

• •Astronomers have discovered extraordinarily powerful X-ray jets blasting from two supermassive black holes.
• •These jets shine in the afterglow of the Big Bang and are transforming the first light of the universe into high-energy jets.
• •The jets are visible across billions of light-years due to interactions with the cosmic microwave background.
• •The researchers observed these immense structures as they appeared when the universe was just 3 billion years old, during a period when galaxies and their central black holes were growing at breakneck speed.

Astronomers have found powerful X-ray jets emanating from two supermassive black holes, which existed when the universe was only 3 billion years old. These jets, which are up to 300,000 light-years long, are powered by quasars and are visible due to their interaction with the cosmic microwave background. The jets are like cosmic time capsules that help us understand how they impacted the growth of their galaxy and its environment, as the researchers observed them in the early universe. These findings shed light on the early universe's structure and the impact of black holes on galaxy development.

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