Astronomers Discover Giant, Mysterious ‘Rings of Light’ in Deep Space

Astronomers Discover Giant, Mysterious ‘Rings of Light’ in Deep Space
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Astronomers have discovered the most distant and powerful example of a bizarre phenomenon known as “odd radio circles” (ORCs)—enormous, ghostly rings of light located billions of light-years away. This finding, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, deepens one of the biggest mysteries in deep-space physics.

ORCs are vast rings of magnetized plasma that are only visible using radio telescopes. Most ORCs are huge, much bigger than our Milky Way. The new object, RAD J131346.9+500320, is the most distant one yet, appearing as the universe was half its current age. It uniquely features two intersecting rings.

This discovery challenges the original idea that ORCs are shockwaves from black hole explosions. Instead, the research suggests they may be formed by powerful “superwinds”—massive outflows of particles from their host galaxies. The finding was made by the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope with the help of citizen scientists.