First microblazar identified in Milky Way

Astronomers may have found the first microblazar in the Milky Way, according to a study led by researchers from the University of Jaén in Spain. The object, named IRAS 18293−0941, is located about 12,000 light-years from Earth and consists of a black hole with about ten times the mass of the Sun and a massive companion star that orbits it every 11.38 days.

Jet of ejected matter aligned with Earth

The system emits a jet of ejected matter traveling at nearly 0.75 times the speed of light, almost directly toward Earth. This precise alignment had not previously been documented for an object of this type in the Milky Way, making the discovery particularly significant.

Discovery uses data from multiple observatories

The discovery was made using data from multiple instruments, including the Calar Alto Observatory in Spain, the European VLBI Network, the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa, and archival data from the Very Large Array in New Mexico. The study, titled A Galactic microblazar as a potential accelerator of ultra-high-energy particles, has been accepted by the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics after a preprint was posted on arXiv.

Jet collision may accelerate particles to extreme energies

The opposite jet from the system, which travels about 100 light-years, collides with a dense molecular cloud composed mainly of hydrogen and dust. This collision could accelerate particles up to the petaelectronvolt level, potentially linked to the gamma-ray source LHAASO J1831-1007u. However, this association is based on location and theoretical models rather than direct measurement.

Discovery could provide new insights into particle acceleration

If confirmed, this discovery could offer researchers a new kind of laboratory for studying particle acceleration mechanisms previously confined to distant objects. The identification of other microblazars in the future could allow for comparison, classification, and a better understanding of these phenomena. For now, IRAS 18293−0941 remains a unique candidate, supported by converging observations and extensive research efforts.