Astronomers using the LOFAR radio telescope have discovered a new unusual radio galaxy J0011+3217, arXiv reported.
Radio galaxies emit radio waves from their central cores, where black holes accumulate gas and dust, generating high-energy jets. During their active stage, which can last up to 100 million years, these galaxies have features such as radiolobes - extended regions of radio emission that lie on either side of the core. Once the active stage ends, these signatures disappear.
Researchers, using data from the second edition of the LOFAR Sky Survey at 144 megahertz, identified J0011+3217 as a giant radio galaxy with a single-sided secondary lobe and misaligned giant primary lobes. The galaxy is probably also associated with the Abell 7 galaxy cluster.
Observations show that the secondary radio lobe has a linear size of about 2.77 million light years, which is about 85 percent of the primary lobes. Such one-sided secondary lobes are extremely rare and such a structure has not been observed in any other X-shaped radio galaxy so far.
The astronomers noted that the secondary lobe in J0011+3217 shows slight distortions or off-axis deviations, which is typical of wide-angle tails (WATs). These curved radio sources are usually associated with the dominant galaxy in the cluster or group.
Researchers stress the need for further study of J0011+3217 to fully understand its characteristics.