A black hole 11.6 billion light years from Earth has unleashed a compelling jet, according to new observations from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Very Large Array (VLA). Seen when the universe was at its early “cosmic noon”, or about 3 billion years after the Big Bang, the jet is visible to telescopes due to its interactions with the dense cosmic microwave background (CMB), a faint glow left over from the universe’s birth. Researchers confirmed two jets from different black holes, their particles racing at up to 99% the speed of light, offering rare insight into early supermassive black hole activity.

Chandra Detects Ultra-Fast Black Hole Jets Using X-Ray Vision and Statistical Relativity Model

As per NASA’s Chandra press release, the jets — from quasars J1405+0415 and J1610+1811 — were detected due to both the Chandra telescope’s sharp X-ray vision and the denser CMB of the early universe. When electrons in the jets collide with the CMB, they emit detectable X-ray signals. These observations were made possible by a statistical method that factors in how relativistic effects brighten jets that are angled toward Earth, solving a decades-old problem in jet detection.

The researchers determined that one jet’s particles were moving between 95 percent and 99 percent the speed of light, while the other reached up to 98 percent. Viewing angles were estimated to be 9 and 11 degrees, respectively. Despite originating from opposite directions, both jets appeared bright — a consequence of Einstein’s special relativity, which causes jets aimed at Earth to visually intensify, masking their actual orientation.

The findings, presented by Jaya Maithil of the Centre for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian at the 246th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, underline how fast-growing black holes shaped galaxy formation at cosmic noon. The dual detector is an example of how modern statistical models and X-ray measurements can perhaps access the edge of the universe’s most ancient, fiery moments.

These new ideas are informing us about how supermassive black holes work during the peak growth of galaxies. The results, which will be published in The Astrophysical Journal, add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that black hole jets in the most distant reaches of the universe can hold as much, if not more, energy than all the gas in their host galaxies.