Huge jet sent through the universe after two stars smash into each other, scientists say

The event opened up a new chapter in physics and was one heralded as one of the most exciting discoveries ever

The dramatic collision of two stars deep in space flung a jet of particles through the universe at impossible-looking speeds, scientists have found.

Last year, astronomers around the world reported they had spotted two suns crashing into each other with a force that sent waves throughout the universe and a vast amount of material flying through space. Since then, they have been exploring that dramatic event, which they said opened up a new chapter in astrophysics and could change the way we understand the beginnings of some of the most mysterious parts of the universe.

It was the first time that scientists had detected an event both by using gravitational waves and also electromagnetic waves. That meant that it opened up a new way of looking at the universe.

Now researchers have found that the extraordinary event also threw out a superfast jet of material that flew through interstellar space. Tracking that jet could help scientists learn about the neutron stars that had the collision and which still remain mysterious.

That jet of particles was moving at nearly the speed of light but an illusion meant that it appeared to be going even faster when it was first spotted. The jet was so energetic that only a jet could explain what was going on.

"We measured an apparent motion that is four times faster than light. That illusion, called superluminal motion, results when the jet is pointed nearly toward Earth and the material in the jet is moving close to the speed of light," said Kunal Mooley, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and Caltech.

If it weren't pointed so close to Earth, scientists would not have been able to detect the jet. But they did, and found that it seems to have come from a dramatic event deep in space.

It appears that when the two stars merged, they threw out a spherical shell of debris that was flung out into space. The stars then collapsed into a black hole and started pulling that material in.

As they did, the material turned into a spinning disk that flung out the jet at with intense force out from its poles.

"The merger event was important for a number of reasons, and it continues to surprise astronomers with more information," said Joe Pesce, NSF Program Director for NRAO. "Jets are enigmatic phenomena seen in a number of environments, and now these exquisite observations in the radio part of the electromagnetic spectrum are providing fascinating insight into them, helping us understand how they work.