Black Hole Jet in the Early Universe

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach in collaboration with NASA’s Universe of Learning partners: Caltech/IPAC, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Video imagery:

·       Animation, black hole with jet: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

·       Artist’s concept, black hole with jet: NASA, CXC, M.Weiss

·       Chandra X-ray image of J1610+1811: NASA, CXC, CfA, J. Maithil et al

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A white line moves through colorful images of the universe. 

 

Title: News from the Universe. 

 

June 27, 2025. Black hole jet in the early universe. 

 

Astronomers have discovered a powerful particle jet blasting out of a black hold only 2 billion years after the big bang. 

 

Using observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), researchers confirmed the jet is moving at between 95% and 99% of the speed of light. 

 

As the jet collided with the dense environment of the early universe, its light was boosted to become detectable by Chandra, even at such an immense distance. 

 

Astronomers call this period of the universe's history "cosmic noon," when most galaxies and supermassive black holes were growing faster than at any other time. 

 

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This news was brought to you in part by the Chandra X-Ray Center in Cambridge, MA.