Astronomers discover the most powerful and distant cosmic ring ever seen

These mysterious rings are a relatively recent addition to astronomy, first identified only six years ago. So far, only a few have been confirmed, and they are truly massive -- spanning 10 to 20 times the diameter of the Milky Way.

ORCs are huge, faint rings of radio energy that surround galaxies and can only be seen in the radio portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. They are made up of highly energetic, magnetized plasma. Earlier theories suggested that these vast structures might form when supermassive black holes or entire galaxies merge, sending shockwaves rippling through space.

New Evidence Points to Galactic Superwinds

A recent study published on October 2 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society offers a new explanation. The researchers propose that these glowing rings of radio light could be driven by massive "superwinds" -- streams of charged particles expelled from spiral host radio galaxies.

The discovery was led by a team at the University of Mumbai, working through the RAD@home Astronomy Collaboratory, a citizen science project. They used the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR), the world's largest and most sensitive low-frequency radio telescope (10 to 240 megahertz), to identify the remarkable structure.

A Record-Breaking Double-Ringed Galaxy

The newly found source, named RAD J131346.9+500320, sits at a redshift of about 0.94, meaning it dates back to when the universe was roughly half its current age. This makes it both the most distant and most powerful ORC ever detected.

What makes it even more unusual is that it features two intersecting rings -- only the second known ORC to display this rare double-ring pattern. The discovery raises new questions about what drives these extraordinary cosmic formations.

Dr. Ananda Hota, founder of the RAD@home Astronomy Collaboratory, said, "This work shows how professional astronomers and citizen scientists together can push the boundaries of scientific discovery. ORCs are among the most bizarre and beautiful cosmic structures we've ever seen -- and they may hold vital clues about how galaxies and black holes co-evolve, hand-in-hand."

RAD J131346.9+500320 is also the first ORC identified through citizen science and the first discovered using LOFAR.

LOFAR: A Window Into the Early Universe

LOFAR is a state-of-the-art radio telescope made up of hundreds of thousands of antennas spread across the Netherlands and partner sites throughout Europe. Acting as one vast interferometer, it captures exceptionally sharp and sensitive images of the sky at low radio frequencies.

This advanced network allows astronomers to peer billions of years into the past, to an era before the first stars and galaxies formed, by scanning huge portions of the radio sky with remarkable detail.

Two More Gigantic Radio Galaxies Discovered

Along with the record-breaking ORC, the RAD@home team also identified two additional enormous cosmic structures.

The first, RAD J122622.6+640622, is a galaxy nearly three million light-years wide -- more than 25 times the size of the Milky Way. One of its powerful jets bends sharply to the side, possibly deflected by surrounding material, before creating a glowing radio ring about 100,000 light-years across.

The second, RAD J142004.0+621715, spans 1.4 million light-years and features a similar ring of radio emission at the end of one jet, while another thin jet extends from the opposite side of the host galaxy.

Both galaxies reside in dense environments known as galaxy clusters. Their high-speed jets likely collide with surrounding material -- superheated plasma at millions of degrees -- sculpting the dramatic ring shapes visible in radio light.

All three objects, including the newly discovered ORC, are located in galaxy clusters weighing around 100 trillion Suns. This suggests that interactions between fast-moving, magnetized plasma jets and surrounding hot gas could play a crucial role in forming these rare, ring-like structures.

Expanding the Family of Mysterious Cosmic Rings

Co-author Dr. Pratik Dabhade, of the National Centre for Nuclear Research in Warsaw, Poland, said: "These discoveries show that ORCs and radio rings are not isolated curiosities -- they are part of a broader family of exotic plasma structures shaped by black hole jets, winds, and their environments.

"The fact that citizen scientists uncovered them highlights the continued importance of human pattern recognition, even in the age of machine learning."

Future observatories promise to reveal even more of these elusive cosmic rings. The upcoming Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will greatly expand astronomers' ability to detect faint radio structures, while large optical surveys such as the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will help pinpoint their host galaxies and cosmic environments.

For now, the three massive radio rings discovered through citizen science represent a major step forward in understanding these vast and puzzling structures that illuminate the hidden workings of our universe.