Astronomers have discovered a black hole jet that erupted into existence when the universe was less than 1.2 billion years old, or roughly 9% its current age. The jet spans 200,000 light-years — twice the width of the Milky Way — making it the largest black hole jet ever observed from such an early epoch.
Decades of observations have revealed that black holes that lurk at the centers of galaxies accrete nearby gas and dust into a swirling disk. As this material falls in, it releases immense amounts of energy due to friction, thus driving the black holes to expel some of the material as powerful jets. Although radio telescopes have found hundreds of such jets — even large ones — none have been spotted in the distant, early universe.
