Hubble Captures Rare Spiral Galaxy Hosting a Quasar Jet

The discovery challenges existing theories about quasar formation, revealing a young jet in a galaxy that has retained its spiral structure.

Quasar J0742+2704 is located in a spiral galaxy, a rare phenomenon as quasars are typically found in elliptical galaxies formed from mergers.
The quasar's supermassive black hole is over 400 million times the mass of the Sun and is accompanied by young jets first detected in 2020.
Hubble images reveal distortions in one of the galaxy's spiral arms, suggesting gravitational interaction with a nearby galaxy.
A nearby ring galaxy, possibly formed by a smaller galaxy passing through a larger one, may provide clues about the quasar's jet formation.
Further analysis with telescopes like NASA’s Chandra and ALMA will investigate the interactions and mechanisms behind this unusual system.