A groundbreaking discovery has revealed the presence of a blazar—a supermassive black hole with a jet pointed directly at Earth—at an extraordinary redshift of 7.0. The object, designated VLASS J041009.05−013919.88 (J0410−0139), is the most distant blazar ever identified, providing a rare glimpse into the epoch of reionization when the universe was less than 800 million years old. This discovery challenges existing models of black hole and galaxy formation in the early cosmos.
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aasactive galactic nucleusALMAanniversaryARDCasteroidasteroidsAtacamaAtacama Large Millimeter/submillmeter arrayAUIaui programAUI Scholarshipawardsbaselinebinarybinary starsblack holeblack holesblazarBroader Impactsbrown dwarfCaltechcasaCDLcensusCentral Development Laboratorycfachandracoma berenicesComa clustercometscosmic explosioncosmologyCSOdead galaxyDecadal Surveydeep fielddeep field imagingdftaudistant galaxydiversityearly universeEHTEMSequityeventexoplanetexoplanetsfast radio burstFast Radio Burstsflarefotaufrbgalaxiesgalaxies mergergalaxygalaxy clustergalexgamma ray burstgbogbtgravitational lensgravitational wavesgreen bank observatorygreen bank telescopeH20HAM RadiohonorsHubbleHugheshvachydrogenimage contestinclusioninternational women's dayIoJansky FellowshipsJansky LecturejetsJupiterLeroyLGBTlocal oscillatorlow noise amplifierm83M87magnetarMagnetarsmagnetic fieldsmaserMilky Waymolecular cloudsmoumtexNACnasaNational Astronomy ConsortiumNational Science Foundationnear earth objectsNEOsneutron starsneutron-star mergerngVLANINENMnraoNRQZNSFODIopen houseOrionparkes radio observatorypawseypeoplePHANGSplanetary defensePlanetary Radarplanetary scienceplasmaPostdoctoral researchPRIDEprotoplanetary diskprotoplanetsprotostarsPROVOCAproxima centauripulsarqorvoquasarradarradio telescoperam pressure strippingraytheonreceiverREUSchinnererscholarshipscience casesSETIsgrASMBHsoftwareSolar Systemspiral galaxiesstar deathstar factorystar formationstarbirthstarsstellar flarestellar nurseriesSTEMsummer researchsupernovasupernova remnanttidal disruption eventstradestradesmenunmusnovery large arrayviaVLAvlassVLBAwater
Precision Measurements Offer Clues to Magnetar’s Cosmic Origin
An international team of astronomers have used a powerful array of radio telescopes to discover new insights about a magnetar that’s only a few hundred years old. By capturing precise measurements of the magnetar’s position and velocity, new clues emerge regarding its developmental path.
Spotted: ‘Death Star’ Black Holes in Action
Huge black holes are firing powerful beams of particles into space — and then changing their aim to fire at new targets.
Radio Observations of Compact Symmetric Objects Shed New Light on Black Hole Phenomenon
Compact Symmetric Objects (CSOs) have long puzzled astronomers with their unique characteristics. These active galaxies harbor supermassive black holes that emit powerful jets traveling at near-light speeds in opposite directions. However, unlike their counterparts in other galaxies, these jets remain compact, not extending out to great distances as expected. For decades, scientists presumed that CSOs were youthful entities, with their jets destined to expand over time. New findings, published in three papers in The Astrophysical Journal, challenge this notion.
VLBA Marks 30 Years Pushing the Bounds of Science
On August 20, 2023, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) marked 30 years since the National Science Foundation’s Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) had its inauguration ceremony in the high desert of New Mexico.
VLBA Produces First Full 3-D View of Binary Star-Planet System
Astronomers using the VLBA have produced the first-ever full, 3-D view of binary star system with a planet orbiting one of the stars. Their achievement promises important new insights into the process of planet formation.