<p>A group from Caltech led by postdoc Martijn Oei has found the largest black hole jets yet discovered. They span 23 million light-years, affecting galaxies far beyond the one they originate from.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.astro.caltech.edu/news/gargantuan-black-hole-jets-are-biggest-seen-yet" rel="nofollow noreferrer">article on Caltech's web site</a> presents and discusses the finding. There are signs that there are more of such giant jets than previously thought, spreading matter and energy across galaxies, thus affecting entire cosmic regions.</p>
<p>One such effect is &quot;spreading magnetic fields throughout the space between galaxies&quot;, presumably by means of the charged particles ejected. The article quotes Oei:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We know magnetism pervades the cosmic web, then makes its way into galaxies and stars, and eventually to planets, but the question is: Where does it start? Have these giant jets spread magnetism through the cosmos?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/25/science/space/black-hole-m87-energy.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">New York Times article</a> quoted him:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The magnetism on our planet allows life to thrive, so we want to understand how it came to be.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That puzzled me. I was firmly convinced that the magnetic fields on Earth and other planets in our system, and the Sun, come from electric currents inside these bodies and have nothing to do with interstellar or intergalactic events.</p>
<p>Is our planetary magnetic field indeed &quot;seeded&quot; in some way by such jets? Do I misunderstand Oei? Was he mis-quoted?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-26T13:49:11.150Z
I sincerely hope he was misquoted...
Jon Custer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-26T16:00:29.673Z
The abstract from his paper says "By pumping electrons, atomic nuclei, and magnetic fields into the intergalactic medium, these energetic flows affect the distribution of matter and magnetism in the cosmic web", if that helps clarify anything.
Darth Pseudonym
<black-hole><planet><magnetic-field><astronomical-jet>
"Have these giant jets spread magnetism through the cosmos [including Earth]?"
Peter - Reinstate Monica
# "Have these giant jets spread magnetism through the cosmos [including Earth]?"

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-09-25)

A group from Caltech led by postdoc Martijn Oei has found the largest black hole jets yet discovered. They span 23 million light-years, affecting galaxies far beyond the one they originate from.

An [article on Caltech's web site](https://www.astro.caltech.edu/news/gargantuan-black-hole-jets-are-biggest-seen-yet) presents and discusses the finding. There are signs that there are more of such giant jets than previously thought, spreading matter and energy across galaxies, thus affecting entire cosmic regions.

One such effect is "spreading magnetic fields throughout the space between galaxies", presumably by means of the charged particles ejected. The article quotes Oei:

> We know magnetism pervades the cosmic web, then makes its way into galaxies and stars, and eventually to planets, but the question is: Where does it start? Have these giant jets spread magnetism through the cosmos?

A [New York Times article](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/25/science/space/black-hole-m87-energy.html) quoted him:

> The magnetism on our planet allows life to thrive, so we want to understand how it came to be.

That puzzled me. I was firmly convinced that the magnetic fields on Earth and other planets in our system, and the Sun, come from electric currents inside these bodies and have nothing to do with interstellar or intergalactic events.

Is our planetary magnetic field indeed "seeded" in some way by such jets? Do I misunderstand Oei? Was he mis-quoted?

**Tags:** black-hole, planet, magnetic-field, astronomical-jet

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I sincerely hope he was misquoted...  
> **username_2**: The abstract from his paper says "By pumping electrons, atomic nuclei, and magnetic fields into the intergalactic medium, these energetic flows affect the distribution of matter and magnetism in the cosmic web", if that helps clarify anything.  

---

## 0 answers

