With the help of citizen scientists, astronomers have spotted the most powerful “strange radio circle” (ORC) yet. This discovery could allow astronomers to better understand how these unusual objects – and galaxies they encircle – form.
“ORCs are some of the most bizarre and beautiful cosmic structures we have ever seen – and they may hold essential clues about how galaxies and black holes co-evolve, hand in hand.” Ananda Hotafounder of the RAD@home Astronomy Collaboratory and co-author of a new paper describing the results, said in a statement.
This ORC is unique for several reasons. First, it is made up of not one, but two interlocking rings like a Venn diagram. This is only the second time that astronomers have observed such a configuration. Second, it is the most distant and powerful ORC found to date. The researchers detailed their findings in an article published October 2 in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The new rings were first reported by citizen scientists participating in the RAD@home Astronomy Collaboratory, an international citizen science research platform originally founded in India. The rings were then confirmed by a team of astronomers using the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR), a series of radio telescopes spread across the European continent, and named RAD J131346.9+500320.
“The fact that citizen scientists discovered them highlights the continued importance of human pattern recognition, even in the age of machine learning.” Pratik Dabhadeastronomer at the National Center for Nuclear Research in Poland and co-author of the new paper, said in the release.
Previous research suggested that ORCs could form when supermassive objects black holes crash into each other, sending out cosmic shockwaves. But the twin rings of RAD J131346.9+500320 are centered around a jet-shaped filament of gas. Based on this structure, Dabhade and his team suggest that it may have been shaped by “super winds” from the spiral galaxies it contains. This may also be true for other CROs, although more research is needed to be sure.
In addition to RAD J131346.9+500320, the article details two other objects discovered in collaboration with the RAD@home astronomy laboratory: a galaxy 3 million light years across surrounded by a radio ring and another galaxy with a ring around one of its massive jets. Future research from LOFAR and other telescopes, such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, could help reveal more about these structures.
