The U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) has begun a major upgrade to the NSF Very Long Baseline Array (NSF VLBA) with the development and installation of state-of-the-art ultra wideband receivers capable of operating across the frequency range of 8 to 40 gigahertz (GHz).
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IMAGE RELEASE: A Blazar In the Early Universe
The supersharp radio “vision” of the National Science Foundation’s Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) has revealed previously unseen details in a jet of material ejected at three-quarters the speed of light from the core of a galaxy some 12.8 billion light-years from Earth. The galaxy, dubbed PSO J0309+27, is a blazar, with its jet pointed toward Earth, and is the brightest radio-emitting blazar yet seen at such a distance. It also is the second-brightest X-ray emitting blazar at such a distance.
In this image, the brightest radio emission comes from the galaxy’s core, at bottom right. The jet is propelled by the gravitational energy of a supermassive black hole at the core, and moves outward, toward the upper left. The jet seen here extends some 1,600 light-years, and shows structure within it.
At this distance, PSO J0309+27 is seen as it was when the universe was less than a billion years old, or just over 7 percent of its current age.
An international team of astronomers led by Cristiana Spingola of the University of Bologna in Italy, observed the galaxy in April and May of 2020. Their analysis of the object’s properties provides support for some theoretical models for why blazars are rare in the early universe. The researchers reported their results in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
CREDIT: Spingola et al.; Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF.
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This news article was originally published on the NRAO website on December 22, 2020.
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NRAO to Outfit the VLBA with New Ultra Wideband Receivers
The U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) has begun a major upgrade to the NSF Very Long Baseline Array (NSF VLBA) with the development and installation of state-of-the-art ultra wideband receivers capable of operating across the frequency range of 8 to 40 gigahertz (GHz).
Astronomers Reveal Planet Building’s Secret Ingredient: Magnetism
Astronomers have created a detailed map revealing the magnetic fields weaving through TW Hydrae, one of the closest known stars with a planet-forming disk, using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
A Million Reasons to Celebrate: NSF NRAO Hits One Million Citations
The U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) is celebrating a historic achievement: research using our telescopes has now been cited over one million times in scientific literature!