Astrophysicists have for the first time detected powerful plasma streams gushing from the outskirts of a supermassive black hole located about 7.5 billion light-years from Earth. The record-breaking jets were captured using the LOFAR (International Low Frequency Array) radio telescope in the Netherlands.

Black hole jets, or jets, are streams of charged ions, electrons, and other particles accelerated to near-Earth speeds by the enormous magnetic fields around black holes. Jets, which persist for millions of years, can reach enormous sizes and influence the distribution of matter and magnetic fields in the intergalactic medium called the cosmic web.

Scientists have known about the existence of jets for more than 100 years, but until recently it was believed that they would not extend very far from where they originated. Theoretical models suggested that the natural limit of their growth was about 16.3 million light-years (five megaparsecs). The results of a new study published in the journal Naturechanged astrophysicists’ understanding of jets: The discovered structure is about 23 million light-years (seven megaparsecs) long.

The two powerful currents gushing into the void were named “Porphyrion” after the giant in Greek mythology. According to researchers, their total power is equivalent to trillions of suns.

The size of Porphyrion suggests that the jets play an important role in the formation and evolution of the universe, preventing star formation and throwing huge amounts of material and energy into space. They are so powerful that they penetrate far beyond the galaxy where the black hole is located, penetrating the vast voids of the cosmic web.

“Porphyrion” shows that small and large objects in the universe are closely related. We see a single black hole that forms a structure similar in scale to cosmic filaments and voids,” said Martijn Oey, lead author of the new scientific paper from the California Institute of Technology (USA).

The largest jets ever discovered erupt from above and below a supermassive black hole and began forming about 7.5 billion years ago, when the universe was about 6.3 billion years old, researchers assume.

The discovery was made with the help of the low-frequency radio interferometer LOFAR in the Netherlands. Its high sensitivity and resolution allow the study of weak and large radio structures in the universe.

To study the supermassive black hole’s host galaxy in more detail, astrophysicists used the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in India and the WM Keck Observatory in Hawaii. The combination of these instruments allowed for detailed images and data on the structure and properties of the jets.

The scientists now plan to conduct additional observations and simulations to understand the mechanisms that allow the jets to remain stable at these scales.

“How these jets can maintain their coherence over such large distances remains a mystery,” the researchers admitted.