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  • Writer's pictureJohn Garcia

Cosmic Jet of 13 Billion Light-Years Discovered


A recent discovery of a radio signal that originated from a quasar is said to be 13 billion light-years has reached the Earth. This newly found quasar has been designated as P172+18 by scientists. The material that has been emitted by the quasar travels at nearly the speed of sound.


The universe itself is estimated at 13.8 billions years old, making the cosmic jet as old as the universe. A cosmic jet is a phenomenon where outflows of ionized matter is emitted from a quasar and accelerated close to the speed of light. Each such jet is a narrow stream of plasma (ionized gas) that appears to squirt out of the center of a galaxy emitting radio waves, according to Blandford, Begelman, Rees, 1982). The energy content of this emission can amount to the mass of 10 million stars combined at a single instant.


References:

Strickland, A. (March 8, 2021). Most Distant Cosmic Jet Discovered 13 Billion Light-Year Away. Retrieved on Mar. 2021, from CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/08/world/most-distant-cosmic-jet-quasar-scn/index.html

Blandford, R.D, Begelman, M.C., Rees, M.J. (May 1982). "Cosmic Jets", Scientific American Vol. 246, No. 5 pp. 124-143

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