Porphyrion: Black Hole Jets on a Cosmic Scale

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E. Wernquist / D. Nelson (IllustrisTNG Collaboration) / M. Oei's illustration: '...the longest black hole jet system ever observed, nicknamed Porphyrion. Porphyrion dates back to a time when our universe was less than half its present age. (2024) via Sky and Telescope, used w/o permissionWe've known about “black hole jet systems” for some time, but never one as big as Porphyrion: a 23,000,000 light-year giant.

I'll be talking about that today, along with how astronomers have been studying it, a plausible explanation for its extraordinary length, and a quick overview of how we've been thinking about this universe.

More at A Catholic Citizen in America.

(A huge black hole jet system is on the scale of superclusters. A quick look at four millennia of cosmology, living with vastness. Includes a Caltech video.)

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