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Discovery of Milky Way microblazar IRAS 18293-0941

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2026-09-24 22:44 UTC → 2026-10-12 13:17 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Astronomers have identified IRAS 18293-0941 as the first confirmed microblazar within the Milky Way. ~~The system, located~~ Located approximately 12,000 light-years from Earth, the system consists of a black hole with roughly ten solar masses orbiting a massive, hot star every 11.38 days. As the black hole accretes material from its companion star, it launches two opposing relativistic jets at approximately three-quarters the speed of light. The system is classified as a microblazar because one of these jets is oriented almost directly toward Earth. This discovery follows three decades of theoretical predictions regarding stellar-mass black holes producing relativistic jets similar to those seen in extragalactic blazars. While the system was first detected by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite in 1983, it remained obscured by interstellar dust. Researchers confirmed the nature of the jets using high-resolution radio imaging from the European VLBI Network and positional data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft, ensuring the emission originated from the stellar binary rather than a distant background galaxy. The research, coordinated by astrophysicist Josep Martí from the University of Jaén and published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, suggests these systems are smaller-scale versions of blazars, which are highly energetic active galactic nuclei powered by supermassive black holes.

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