Astronomers have found that super massive black holes in the early universe were far more powerful than previously assumed, which blew over incredible distances at almost the speed of light. This groundbreaking discovery, which was made with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory from NASA, offers new insights into the way in which these cosmic monsters shaped the universe during their most dynamic period.
Artists illustration of the Chandra X-ray observatory. (Credit: NASA/CXC/ngst)
The discovery focuses on a period in which scientists call “Cosmic Noon”, about 3 billion years after the big bang when the universe just started to take its step. During this somewhat frenzied era, the stars peased to life with record rates, while galaxies and super massive black holes devoured material faster than at any other time in cosmic history.
“We find that some black holes in this phase in the universe can wear a bigger blow than we thought” – Jaya Maithil from the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian
Two super massive black holes that were 11.6 billion and 11.7 billion light years away from Earth were discovered when they launched jets for over 300,000 light years that are so great that they could span several galaxies that are placed from the end.
A team led by Jaya Maithil from the Center for Astrophysics in Harvard & Smithsonian made the discovery and, what makes it so remarkable, as the jets became visible to astronomers. While the jets run through space, plow the cosmic microwave backgrounds (CMB), the remaining lights from the big bang itself. When energy -rich electrons collide with these old photons in the jets, increase their energy a million times and transform from microwaves into X -rays that can recognize Chandra.
Nine-year-old Wilkinson-Mikrowellenanisotropy probe menu of the temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background. (Credit: NASA / WMAP science team)
The research team combined Chandra's X -ray observations with radio data from the very large array to measure the incredible speeds of the jets. They found that a jet (marked J1405+0415) walks between 95% and 99% of the speed of light, while the other (J1610+1811) races with 92% to 98% of the speed of light.
Both jets almost directly point to Earth and only removed about 10 degrees from our line of sight. This happy orientation gives the astronomers an unprecedented view of this cosmic particle accelerator in action. The team also measured the magnetic fields in the jets and found them typical of this type of X -ray emission, which confirmed their understanding of how these extreme environments work. These results suggest that super massive black holes not only grew quickly during the cosmic lunchtime, but also actively turned their surroundings on unprecedented scales. The massive jets could have influenced star formation, galaxy development and the distribution of matter over cosmic distances.
Research shows how modern telescopes can serve as time machines, which reveals the violent youth of the universe. It also reminds us that today's universe appears relatively calm, but its early years were characterized by exceptional violence and energy, with super massive black holes serve than some of the most powerful forces that shape the cosmic landscape.
Source: Chandra from Nasa sees surprisingly strong black hole beam at Cosmic “Noon”
