Astronomers have unveiled the most ancient blazar ever observed a supermassive black hole from the early universe shooting an energy beam directly toward Earth. This cosmic behemoth, with a mass equivalent to 700 million suns, offers scientists a rare glimpse into the universe’s formative years.
Published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the study titled Properties and Far-infrared Variability of a z = 7 Blazar marks a breakthrough in understanding supermassive black holes.
The newly identified blazar, named J0410−0139, lies an astounding 12.9 billion light-years away. Its energy beam has traveled nearly 13 billion years to reach Earth, originating just 800 million years after the Big Bang. This makes it the farthest blazar ever detected, outpacing the previous record-holder by 100 million years.
Blazars are rare galaxies powered by supermassive black holes at their cores. These black holes emit jets of radiation, which, when aligned directly with Earth, make them among the brightest objects in the cosmos.
Astronomer Emmanuel Momjian of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory emphasized the significance of the discovery. “The alignment of J0410−0139’s jet with our line of sight allows astronomers to peer directly into the heart of this cosmic powerhouse,” he said.
The research team used data from powerful observatories, including Chile’s Atacama Large Millimeter Array, the Magellan Telescopes, and the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory also contributed to the findings.
The discovery provides a unique opportunity to study the evolution of supermassive black holes during one of the universe’s most transformative epochs. According to study lead author Eduardo Bañados of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, the presence of this blazar hints at the existence of numerous other supermassive black holes from the same era, many of which may lack visible jets or have jets pointing away from Earth.
“Finding one [quasar] with a jet pointing directly toward us implies that at that time, there must have been many [quasars] in that period of cosmic history with jets that do not point at us,” Bañados explained.
Co-author Silvia Belladitta believes this discovery is just the beginning. “Where there is one, there’s one hundred more [waiting to be found],” she said, underscoring the vast potential for future discoveries in the study of early black holes and blazars.
This remarkable finding sheds light on the mysterious formation and growth of supermassive black holes and opens new avenues for understanding the universe’s earliest moments.
