Scientists Detect Longest Pair of Jets Streaming from Supermassive Black Hole

This undated artist’s impression illustrates how it might look when a star approaches too close to a black hole, where the star is squeezed by the intense gravitational pull of the black hole. ESO/M.Kornmesser/Handout via REUTERS
This undated artist’s impression illustrates how it might look when a star approaches too close to a black hole, where the star is squeezed by the intense gravitational pull of the black hole. ESO/M.Kornmesser/Handout via REUTERS
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Scientists Detect Longest Pair of Jets Streaming from Supermassive Black Hole

This undated artist’s impression illustrates how it might look when a star approaches too close to a black hole, where the star is squeezed by the intense gravitational pull of the black hole. ESO/M.Kornmesser/Handout via REUTERS
This undated artist’s impression illustrates how it might look when a star approaches too close to a black hole, where the star is squeezed by the intense gravitational pull of the black hole. ESO/M.Kornmesser/Handout via REUTERS

Scientists have discovered the longest pair of jets streaming from a black hole in a distant galaxy.
The jets shooting hot plasma are the largest ever spotted – about as long as 140 Milky Way galaxies lined up end-to-end.
“This one has managed to reach a size that’s so big,” said Eileen Meyer, who studies black holes at University of Maryland, Baltimore County and who was not involved in the study.
The discovery, made using images from a European radio telescope, was reported Wednesday in the journal Nature, The Associated Press said.
Black holes eat most space debris that falls their way. Sometimes, heated-up plasma makes a narrow escape by spewing out in thin, high-energy jets.
The jets can break apart soon after their creation, jostled by space turbulence or starved in the absence of new matter. But jets from supermassive black holes can become supersized.
The latest combined jets from a faraway supermassive black hole are around 23 million light-years long. That’s about 7 million light-years longer than the previous recordholder. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles.
Study co-author Martijn Oei said researchers weren’t expecting to find long black hole jets so early in the universe’s history. The jets date back to when the universe was less than half its current age.
Studying the jets could reveal whether they had an influence on how the early universe came to be, said Oei with the California Institute of Technology.



King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority Joins IUCN Green List

The Green List provides crucial guidelines for conservation and involving stakeholders in sustainable development processes - SPA
The Green List provides crucial guidelines for conservation and involving stakeholders in sustainable development processes - SPA
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King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority Joins IUCN Green List

The Green List provides crucial guidelines for conservation and involving stakeholders in sustainable development processes - SPA
The Green List provides crucial guidelines for conservation and involving stakeholders in sustainable development processes - SPA

The King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority has announced its inclusion in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Green List.
This recognition follows a comprehensive assessment of the reserve by IUCN experts, who evaluated the authority's environmental and developmental accomplishments, as well as its engagement with the community and preservation efforts, SPA reported.
Authority CEO Abdullah Al-Amer emphasized the significance of this milestone, stating: "Since its establishment, the authority has pursued strategies, development plans, and innovative initiatives to fulfill its core objectives. Through these endeavors, we have successfully met all the key criteria and indicators for joining the IUCN Green List."
Al-Amer attributed this to the support lent by the Saudi leadership and the guidance from Minister of Interior and Chairman of the authority Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz.
Inclusion in the Green List adds to the authority's local and global successes, including receiving the Biodiversity Certificate and designating five critical bird sites within the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve.
Al-Amer stressed that making it on the list is testimony to an effective reserve management and focus on natural resource growth; it now facilitates the growth of over 550 plant species.
The authority's initiatives include planting 2.4 million native tree and shrub seedlings, as well as four tons of local seeds like yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Artemisia, and Haloxylon.
Efforts have been made to restore 250,000 hectares of degraded habitats and relocate 1,235 wildlife species like Arabian oryx, sand gazelles, Arabian gazelles, and Arabian leopards in the reserve.
The authority's achievements are due to its strategic objectives; being on the Green List is a key milestone.
This authority is determined to manage protected areas through sustainable programs focused on environmental conservation, community engagement, and sustainable development, in line with international standards.