SMRTR Science & EngineeringOct 2, 2025Interesting Engineering

Cosmic mystery deepens as astronomers uncover most distant, powerful odd radio circle yet

SMRTR summary

Astronomers using citizen scientists and the world's largest low-frequency radio telescope have discovered the most distant and powerful "odd radio circle" (ORC) ever found, located when the universe was only half its current age. These mysterious ring-shaped structures stretch 10-20 times the size of our Milky Way and glow only in radio light from magnetized plasma. The newly discovered ORC features two intersecting rings and sits in a galaxy cluster weighing 100 trillion Suns, suggesting these cosmic puzzles form when black hole jets collide with dense cosmic environments rather than from galaxy collisions as previously thought.

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