TechDigits

Tech news
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Scientists Baffled By Discovery of Most Distant Radio-Loud Quasar With Greedy Black Hole

Scientists Baffled By Discovery of Most Distant Radio-Loud Quasar With Greedy Black Hole

Quasars are the most energetic objects in the universe and emit tremendous amounts of energy as they are powered by supermassive black holes that, in turn, are surrounded by accretion disks that they feed off.

An international team of scientists discovered the most distant-loud quasar in the universe, which also turned out to be the most distant source of radio emissions. According to results of the study, published on 8 March in The Astrophysical Journal, the quasar named P172+18 appeared about 780 million years after Bing Bang and is 13 billion light years away from the Earth.

The researchers spotted the celestial body as a radio source using Magellan Telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Radio-loud quasars shoot out powerful jets, which are strong sources of radio-wavelength emissions.

"As soon as we got the data, we inspected it by eye, and we knew immediately that we had discovered the most distant radio-loud quasar known so far," said Eduardo Bañados of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany, who made this discovery alongside astronomer Chiara Mazzucchelli from the European Southern Observatory.

Another discovery awaited the scientists - the supermassive black hole that powers this quasar is almost 300 million times more massive than the Sun. Researchers say the black hole is growing in mass "at one of the highest rates ever observed".

This detail puzzled them as they can’t explain how the black hole became so massive at such an early stage of the universe.

"Theoretical studies say that the presence of radio jets can increase the speed with which the black hole eats matter, which means that they can allow for a black hole to grow much faster and might explain why [black holes] are so massive so early. At the same time, radio jets may also impact the galaxy surrounding the quasar by influencing how stars form," Chiara Mazzucchelli said.

Researchers say the quasar may provide clues about the earliest years of the universe called the Epoch of Reionisation when stars and galaxies, as well as supermassive black holes formed.

"I find it very exciting to discover 'new' black holes, and to provide one more building block to understanding the primordial universe, where we come from, and ultimately ourselves," Mazzucchelli said.

Another Quasar?


After their exciting discovery the researchers noticed another beacon of radio waves near P172+18. If confirmed this would become the most distant pair of galaxies ever discovered. Scientists hope to learn more about the signal with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope which is scheduled for launch this year.

Newsletter

Related Articles

TechDigits
0:00
0:00
Close
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The future of sports
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
UK Crypto and Stablecoin Regulations Become Law as Royal Assent is Granted
A Delaware city wants to let businesses vote in its elections
Alef Aeronautics Achieves Historic Milestone with Flight Certification for World's First Flying Car
Google Blocked Access to Canadian News in Response to New Legislation
French Politicians Advocate for Pan-European Regulation on Social Media Influencers
Melinda French Gates Advocates for Increased Female Representation in AI to Prevent Bias
Snapchat+ gains 4 million paying subscribers in its first year
Apple Makes History as the First Public Company Valued at $3 Trillion
Elon Musk Implements Twitter Limits to Tackle Data Scraping, but Faces Criticism for Technical Misunderstanding
EU and UK's Slow Electric Vehicle Adoption Raises Questions About the Transition to Green Mobility
Top Companies Express Concerns Over Europe's Proposed AI Law, Citing Competitiveness and Investment Risks
Meta Unveils Insights on AI Usage in Facebook and Instagram, Amid Growing Calls for Transparency
Crypto Scams Against Seniors Soar by 78% in 2022, Experts Urge Vigilance
The End of an Era: National Geographic Dismisses Last of Its Staff Writers
Shield Your Wallet: The Perils of Wireless Credit Card Theft
Harvard Scientist Who Studies Honesty Accused Of Data Fraud, Put On Leave
Putting an End to the Subscription Snare: The Battle Against Unwitting Commitments
The Legal Perils of AI: Lawyer Faces Sanctions for Relying on Fictional Cases Generated by Chatbot
ChatGPT’s "Grandma Exploit": Ingenious Hack Exposes Loophole in AI, Generates Free Software Codes
The Disney Downturn: A Near Billion-Dollar Box Office Blow for the House of Mouse
A Digital Showdown: Canada Challenges Tech Giants with The Online News Act, Meta Strikes Back
Distress in the Depths: Submersible and Passengers Missing in Titanic Wreckage Expedition
Mark Zuckerberg stealing another idea: Twitter
European Union's AI Regulations Risk Self-Sabotage, Cautions smart and brave Venture Capitalist Joe Lonsdale
Nvidia GPUs are so hard to get that rich venture capitalists are buying them for the startups they invest in
Chinese car exports surge
Reddit Blackout: Thousands of Communities Protest "Ludicrous" Pricing Changes
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
×