On the edge of the universe, astronomers have discovered “the eye of Sauron” which spits ghost particles through space
And extreme plasma jetseveral billion years old, was mapped with unprecedented precision. Her Almost perfect orientation towards earth strongly amplifies its signals. This configuration reveals secrets that remained inaccessible to astrophysicists for a long time. This observation could well Change our understanding of the most energetic forces in the universe.
A cosmic structure worthy of a galactic saga: the Blazar PKS 1424+240 fascinates researchers
For decades, the most extreme objects in the universe have fascinated as much as they disconcert. This is precisely the case of PKS 1424+240a Blazar located more than 7 billion light years away. This is a Active galactic corefed by a Supermassive black holewhich projects a jet of material at speeds close to light.
Unlike Quasars, this type of object is distinguished by a crucial detail: One of his jets is oriented almost exactly towards the earth. In the case of PKS 1424+240, this angle is only 0.3 degree.
Therefore, this orientation generates a relativist magnifying glass effect Who accentuates its apparent light. Thanks to 15 years of observations from the VLBA network, scientists were able to obtain a detailed image of this cosmic jet.
According to Yuri Kovalev, manager of the Muses project, the image reveals a almost perfect toroidal magnetic structurecrossed by a ultra-fast plasma flow. In other words, this “cosmic look” nicknamed “the eye of Sauron” is not fiction, but rather the peak astrophysics.
A cosmic giant with real powers: gamma rays, neutrinos and doppler crisis
The spectacular aspect of PKS 1424+240 does not stop at its appearance. Indeed, this Blazar is One of the most powerful sources known to very high energy gamma rays and cosmic neutrinos. These so -called “ghost” particles cross the matter without interacting. They are therefore extremely difficult to detect.
However, the Icecube observatory, buried under the ice of the South Pole, managed to identify a neutrinos series coming directly from the direction of the Blazar. This detection confirms its status as cosmic engine. However, a problem persists: the speeds observed on radio is not enough to explain the measured energy emissions.
Fortunately, the researchers advance an explanation. This paradox, called “Doppler factor crisis”is explained by a projection effect.
The jet seems slow because it is oriented towards us. But in reality, he moves to a Speed close to that of light. This optical illusion makes it possible to harmonize radio data with detections of neutrinos and gamma rays.
A window on the secrets of the universe: when relativity reveals the invisible
The study, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics Lettersshows how much relativity and orientation influence our perception of the cosmos. Indeed, the configuration of PKS 1424+240 amplifies its light with a factor 30. This facilitates the observation of usually inaccessible phenomena.
For Jack Livingston, co -author of the study, this Window open on a cosmic jet from the front Allows you to refine the theoretical models. It also helps to better understand the nature of Blazars. In short, the cosmic sauron eye is not just a beautiful image. It represents A natural laboratory to test the limits of physics.
Finally, this discovery recalls that the universe, even at 7 billion light years, still is full of mysteries to explore. And sometimes science offers shows that even fiction would not have dared to imagine.
