Astronomers Confirm 8 Giant Radio Rings, Pointing to a New Class of Object
Updated
Updated · Boing Boing · Jul 9
Astronomers Confirm 8 Giant Radio Rings, Pointing to a New Class of Object
3 articles · Updated · Boing Boing · Jul 9
Summary
Eight giant radio rings have now been confirmed in deep space, with six more possible, after astronomers found they do not match any known object or imaging artifact.
Each ring is more than 50 times wider than the Milky Way, glows only at radio wavelengths, and appears brightest at its edges—making it invisible to optical, infrared and X-ray telescopes.
Researchers tested explanations including shock waves from fast radio bursts, gamma-ray bursts or neutron-star mergers, as well as supernova remnants and planetary nebulae, but none fit the observations.
Three rings have a galaxy at their exact center, suggesting the galaxies themselves may have generated the structures; the first examples emerged in an Australian radio survey in 2019.
Are colossal radio rings the ghosts of dead galaxies or a sign of undiscovered physics?
If a galaxy powers a ring 50 times its size, what unknown cosmic engine are we seeing?
Why are structures larger than galaxies only now being seen, and only in radio light?
Odd Radio Circles: New Insights into Million-Light-Year Radio Structures and Their Impact on Galaxy Evolution
Overview
Odd Radio Circles (ORCs) are a newly discovered class of astronomical objects that stand out from anything previously known. They appear as large, highly circular, edge-brightened rings visible only at radio wavelengths. Recent findings show that ORCs are part of a broader group of exotic plasma structures, which are shaped by powerful black-hole jets, galactic winds, and the environments around galaxies. One leading theory suggests that ORCs could be vast radio lobes formed by material ejected at nearly the speed of light. These discoveries open new paths for understanding the energetic processes shaping galaxies.