Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
AD - Go to https://ground.news/drbecky to stay fully informed with the latest Space and Science news. Save 40% off the Vantage plan through my link for unlimited access this month only. Black holes burp. A lot. And we think these burps have a huge impact on how the Universe has evolved. If there’s a strong magnetic field around the black hole, that burp material can get funnelled up and away into a really tight jet. And these jets end up being way bigger than the entire galaxy that we find a black hole in. For example, this galaxy Hercules A is a really famous example of this, with jets than span almost a million light years. But this month, a team of astronomers, Oei and collaborators, reported finding the longest black hole jet ever seen at 23 million light years long. It is HUGE. And while it’s very cool to find the longest or biggest of something out there in the universe, this discovery also has big implications for how the Universe has evolved and galaxies grow. So in this video we’re going to chat about, 1) how Oei and collaborators found this giant black hole jet, Porphyrion, 2) the properties of Porphyrion, and how it compares to all the other black hole jets they found, and 3) what effect black hole jets of this size could have on the universe around them.
Oei et al. (2024; Porphyrion discovery paper) - nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07879-y
Oei et al. (2022; previous largest jet known) - arxiv.org/pdf/2202.05427
Mostert et al. (2024; more than 8000 jets found in LOFAR) - arxiv.org/pdf/2405.00232
Correa et al. (2021; cosmic void size distribution) - arxiv.org/pdf/2007.12064
00:00 - Introduction
02:50 - AD - Ground News
04:25 - How they found these jets?
07:11 - How do they compare to other jets?
11:00 - How do these jets effect the Universe around them?
15:21 - Bloopers
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📚 My book, "A Brief History of Black Holes", out NOW in hardback, paperback, e-book and audiobook (which I narrated myself!): lnk.to/DrBecky
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👕 My new merch, including JWST designs, are available here (with worldwide shipping!): dr-becky.teemill.com
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🎧 Royal Astronomical Society Podcast that I co-host: podfollow.com/supermassive
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🔔 Don't forget to subscribe and click the little bell icon to be notified when I post a new video!
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👩🏽💻 I'm Dr. Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford (Christ Church). I love making videos about science with an unnatural level of enthusiasm. I like to focus on how we know things, not just what we know. And especially, the things we still don't know. If you've ever wondered about something in space and couldn't find an answer online - you can ask me! My day job is to do research into how supermassive black holes can affect the galaxies that they live in. In particular, I look at whether the energy output from the disk of material orbiting around a growing supermassive black hole can stop a galaxy from forming stars.
drbecky.uk.com
rebeccasmethurst.co.uk
AD - Go to https://ground.news/drbecky to stay fully informed with the latest Space and Science news. Save 40% off the Vantage plan through my link for unlimited access this month only. Black holes burp. A lot. And we think these burps have a huge impact on how the Universe has evolved. If there’s a strong magnetic field around the black hole, that burp material can get funnelled up and away into a really tight jet. And these jets end up being way bigger than the entire galaxy that we find a black hole in. For example, this galaxy Hercules A is a really famous example of this, with jets than span almost a million light years. But this month, a team of astronomers, Oei and collaborators, reported finding the longest black hole jet ever seen at 23 million light years long. It is HUGE. And while it’s very cool to find the longest or biggest of something out there in the universe, this discovery also has big implications for how the Universe has evolved and galaxies grow. So in this video we’re going to chat about, 1) how Oei and collaborators found this giant black hole jet, Porphyrion, 2) the properties of Porphyrion, and how it compares to all the other black hole jets they found, and 3) what effect black hole jets of this size could have on the universe around them.
Oei et al. (2024; Porphyrion discovery paper) - nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07879-y
Oei et al. (2022; previous largest jet known) - arxiv.org/pdf/2202.05427
Mostert et al. (2024; more than 8000 jets found in LOFAR) - arxiv.org/pdf/2405.00232
Correa et al. (2021; cosmic void size distribution) - arxiv.org/pdf/2007.12064
00:00 - Introduction
02:50 - AD - Ground News
04:25 - How they found these jets?
07:11 - How do they compare to other jets?
11:00 - How do these jets effect the Universe around them?
15:21 - Bloopers
---
📚 My book, "A Brief History of Black Holes", out NOW in hardback, paperback, e-book and audiobook (which I narrated myself!): lnk.to/DrBecky
---
👕 My new merch, including JWST designs, are available here (with worldwide shipping!): dr-becky.teemill.com
---
🎧 Royal Astronomical Society Podcast that I co-host: podfollow.com/supermassive
---
🔔 Don't forget to subscribe and click the little bell icon to be notified when I post a new video!
---
👩🏽💻 I'm Dr. Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford (Christ Church). I love making videos about science with an unnatural level of enthusiasm. I like to focus on how we know things, not just what we know. And especially, the things we still don't know. If you've ever wondered about something in space and couldn't find an answer online - you can ask me! My day job is to do research into how supermassive black holes can affect the galaxies that they live in. In particular, I look at whether the energy output from the disk of material orbiting around a growing supermassive black hole can stop a galaxy from forming stars.
drbecky.uk.com
rebeccasmethurst.co.uk
