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4h ago

Citizen Scientists and LOFAR Find Most Distant, Most Powerful Odd Radio Circle

A peer-reviewed study points to galactic superwinds or jet interactions in dense clusters as likely origins that will be tested with larger samples.

Credit: RAD@home Astronomy Collaboratory
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Overview

  • Designated RAD J131346.9+500320, the newly reported object sits at redshift ~0.94 and uniquely shows two intersecting radio rings.
  • The find is the first odd radio circle discovered through citizen science and the first identified using LOFAR low-frequency data.
  • Two additional giant radio sources, RAD J122622.6+640622 and RAD J142004.0+621715, display extreme sizes and ring-like features linked to bent or terminating jets.
  • All three systems reside in galaxy clusters of roughly 100 trillion solar masses, implicating environmental density and hot intracluster gas in shaping their radio-ring morphologies.
  • The study reports a steep radio spectrum and diffuse emission on ~800 kpc scales for RAD J131346.9+500320, and notes that upcoming SKA, DESI, and Rubin/LSST surveys should expand samples and clarify formation pathways.