Earth is in the firing line of a strange new type of cosmic object, astronomers say
Astronomers may have discovered the first known microblazar, a long-theorized object firing a powerful beam of particles directly at Earth.
Scientists have discovered the strongest candidate yet for a microblazar, an extremely energetic cosmic object that had been predicted but never observed. Microblazars are smaller versions of blazars, which are some of the most powerful objects in the universe, emitting intense beams of radiation from supermassive black holes. To qualify as a blazar, one of those jets must be pointed directly at Earth.
The newly identified object, IRAS 18293-0941, is located in our own galaxy, about 12,000 light-years away, and is hidden behind a dust cloud. It is part of a binary system, meaning it consists of a black hole orbiting a massive star. This black hole ejects jets of material from its poles, one of which happens to flare toward Earth.
While this microblazar shares many characteristics with its larger counterparts, it lacks the expected rapid variability in brightness, likely due to the thick gas cloud surrounding it. Despite this missing feature, researchers consider IRAS 18293-0941 a promising candidate for the first known microblazar.
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