Monster Radio Jet Twice The Width Of The Milky Way Discovered: 'This Object Is So Extreme'

Researchers discovered a radio jet that is twice as wide as the Milky Way galaxy and was formed when the universe was 1.2 billion years old. (Credit: NOIRLab)

Scientists have discovered a twin-lobed radio jet that spans twice the width of the Milky Way galaxy and was formed when the universe was only 1.2 billion years old.

Astronomers using a combination of telescopes discovered the radio jet that stretches an "astonishing" 200,000 light years - the largest radio jet ever found this early in the history of the universe, NOIRLab said.