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A Black-Hole Jet Keeps the Red Potato From Cooking Stars

Chandra, Webb, VLT, and ALMA observations link a neighboring jet to turbulence around a galaxy 11.7 billion light-years away.

Published Updated Story ID: mp-2026-07-22-014
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Summary

Chandra, Webb, VLT, and ALMA observations link a neighboring jet to turbulence around a galaxy 11.7 billion light-years away.

Astronomers combined X-ray, infrared, optical, and radio observations of MQN01 J004131.9-493704, nicknamed the red potato. The galaxy sits in a dense early-universe intersection, yet forms fewer stars than its gas supply suggests. The team reports evidence that a jet from a neighboring supermassive black hole keeps surrounding gas turbulent and suppresses star formation. The mechanism is an interpretation of multi-observatory data, not a directly filmed interaction.

Why it matters

Chandra, Webb, VLT, and ALMA observations link a neighboring jet to turbulence around a galaxy 11.7 billion light-years away.

Limits and context

  • The mechanism is an interpretation of multi-observatory data, not a directly filmed interaction.

Key claims

  1. Chandra, Webb, VLT, and ALMA observations link a neighboring jet to turbulence around a galaxy 11.7 billion light-years away.

    Qualification: The mechanism is an interpretation of multi-observatory data, not a directly filmed interaction.

    Evidence: source-2026-07-22-014

Sources

  1. Chandra X-ray Observatory via Newswise: Red potato galaxyChandra X-ray Observatory via Newswise · secondary reporting

Corrections

No corrections have been recorded for this story.

A Black-Hole Jet Keeps the Red Potato From Cooking Stars · The Machine Press