Overview

• Designated RAD J131346.9+500320 at redshift ~0.94, the object is the most distant and most powerful odd radio circle reported and the first ORC found through citizen science and with LOFAR.
• The source displays two intersecting radio rings, only the second known example of such a double-ring structure.
• Researchers also identified two giant radio systems—RAD J122622.6+640622 (~3 million light-years across) and RAD J142004.0+621715 (~1.4 million light-years)—each showing ring-like emission linked to extreme jets.
• All three objects reside in massive galaxy clusters of roughly 100 trillion solar masses, supporting scenarios where relativistic jets interact with million-degree hot plasma to sculpt the rings.
• The findings, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, highlight that forthcoming SKA, DESI, and Rubin/LSST surveys are expected to expand samples and enable decisive tests of formation models.