A new image dubbed the “Eye of Sauron” shows the complex magnetic field of a powerful jet ejected directly toward Earth by distant blazars.
Astronomers have captured a stunning image of the complex magnetic field of a giant jet of energy known as the “Eye of Sauron” that stares back at us from space. The incredible image, which took more than 15 years to create, also illuminates the mysterious origins of neutrinos – ghostly particles that rarely interact with other matter.
The origin of this brilliant cosmic eye is a blazar called PKS 1424+240, located billions of light-years from our planet. A blazar is a type of quasar – a supermassive black hole at the center of a distant galaxy that shoots gigantic and powerful energetic jets into space. These jets travel close to the speed of light and contain some of the highest concentrations of high-energy gamma and X-ray radiation in the universe.
Blazars are unique in that their energetic jets are almost perfectly aligned with Earth, meaning they shine directly at our planet, making them much brighter than most quasars and often outshining the brightness of their galaxies. In this image, the researchers peered through one of PKS 1424+240’s “jet cones” using radio waves, allowing them to visualize the magnetic fields within the energetic beam.
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