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Space

Radio waves from black holes in some young galaxies change rapidly

By Bas den Hond

6 July 2021

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

An artist’s impression of a young active galaxy with a black hole at its centre

NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Some young galaxies with black holes in their centre change their emissions of radio waves far faster than astronomers thought possible. This means it might be easier to spot a type of galaxy known as a blazar.

Kathryn Ross at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research in Perth, Australia, and her colleagues surveyed more than 21,000 radio-emitting galaxies under 100,000 years old with a black hole at their core. They found 123 that she calls “bouncy baby black holes”,…

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