Galaxy OJ 287: New images reveal secrets about black holes!

Galaxy OJ 287: New images reveal secrets about black holes!

An international team of astronomers has made groundbreaking discoveries in the galaxy OJ 287, located approximately five billion light-years from Earth. The galaxy belongs to the category of blazars, which are known for their exceptionally high activity and luminosity. The latest detailed images show impressive visual evidence of the structure and behavior of the plasma jet emitted from the center of the galaxy. Loud uni-heidelberg.de These images not only make the complexity of these galactic phenomena visible, but also offer new insights into the dynamics of matter in the vicinity of supermassive black holes.

Dr. Traianou from Heidelberg University points out that the latest images show a sharply curved, ribbon-like structure of the jet. This information opens new perspectives for understanding the nature of the plasma jet that is produced at extreme temperatures of over ten trillion degrees Kelvin. Such extreme conditions allow scientists to observe the formation, propagation and collision of shock waves along the jet. These phenomena may be associated with gamma rays measured in 2017, which have energies in the trillion electron volt range.

Technology behind the recordings

The high-resolution images were created using a unique ground-space radio interferometer. This system combines an underground radio telescope with 27 ground-based observatories, creating a virtual telescope with a diameter five times that of Earth. This innovative measurement method uses the wave nature of light and the superposition of waves to collect extremely precise data. This technological achievement is crucial to detect the structures in galactic cores, which are distant and often optically inaccessible.

The research is supported by the hypothesis of a binary supermassive black hole in OJ 287, which raises new questions about the evolution and orientation of plasma jets. The movements of these black holes could have a significant impact on the shape and dynamics of the jets. OJ 287 substantiates the scientific discourse on the study of merging black holes and their impact on the formation of gravitational waves, an area that still holds many mysteries.

International cooperation

The research was carried out by an international consortium involving institutions from Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, South Korea and the USA. The results of this extensive collaboration were published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, underscoring the importance of these discoveries. The new findings about OJ 287 enrich our knowledge not only about active galactic nuclei, but also about the formation and evolution of complicated structures in the universe.