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Freedom251 › Blog › Astronomy

OP 313 Is the Most Distant Very-High-Energy Blazar Detected, Astronomers Report

By Freedom251 Team · · 3 min read

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Astronomers detected very-high-energy gamma rays from OP 313, a blazar whose emission traveled about eight billion light-years to reach Earth, according to the University of Geneva. The team describes it as the most distant blazar detected in this specific gamma-ray category—not the most distant blazar identified by any method.

What astronomers detected in OP 313

OP 313 is a flat-spectrum radio quasar, a type of blazar. Blazars are active galactic nuclei with jets of material moving at relativistic speeds and aimed nearly toward Earth. That orientation makes their jets and central engines comparatively accessible to observation.

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The very-high-energy gamma-ray emission from OP 313 was first observed in December 2023. Follow-up observations used the LST-1 prototype and the MAGIC telescope at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, Spain. The University of Geneva reported the result on October 6, 2026, identifying the journal as Astronomy & Astrophysics and the paper by DOI 10.1051/0004-6361/202558646.

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Why the distance matters for gamma rays

The University of Geneva describes the gamma rays’ distance as approximately eight billion light-years. Treat that as the release’s reported distance: cosmological distance measures can differ, and “light-years away” in news accounts can also convey how long the light has traveled.

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The observation reaches back to around the beginning of cosmic noon, a period of intense star and galaxy formation. “Around 11 billion years ago, the Universe experienced a period of peak activity known as the ‘Cosmic noon’, characterised by an intense rate of star and galaxy formation,” said Axel Arbet-Engels, a University of Geneva research fellow and corresponding author.

Gamma rays traveling across the universe encounter the extragalactic background light (EBL), the accumulated radiation from cosmic sources. In interactions with this background light, gamma-ray energy can produce electron-positron pairs, reducing the signal that reaches Earth. The researchers analyzed LST-1 and MAGIC observations alongside lower-energy data to characterize this attenuation and the source’s changing gamma-ray flux. This makes OP 313 useful not only for testing the reach of very-high-energy observations, but also for studying how high-energy light is affected over a long cosmic journey.

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How the blazar may produce its intense gamma rays

The team concludes that a dense population of relativistic electrons in OP 313’s jet can explain the intense gamma-ray emission in a leptonic scenario. In this model, energetic electrons transfer energy to lower-energy photons, boosting them to gamma-ray energies.

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“In what is known as the leptonic scenario, electrons have been accelerated to speeds close to the speed of light within a powerful plasma jet ejected by the central supermassive black hole of OP 313,” said Domenico Della Volpe, a University of Geneva professor and co-author. The result supports this explanation for the observed emission; it does not establish that every detail of the jet’s particle physics is settled.

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What “most distant blazar” means in this case

OP 313’s record is specifically for a blazar detected at very-high-energy gamma rays. It is not the most distant blazar known overall. In January 2025, the National Science Foundation described J0410–0139 as the most distant blazar ever seen, at a reported distance of 12.9 billion light-years and from a time when the universe was less than 800 million years old.

Object and claim Reported distance or epoch What the record covers
OP 313 (University of Geneva, 2026) Approximately eight billion light-years; gamma-ray emission first observed in December 2023 Most distant blazar detected at very-high-energy gamma rays, according to the University of Geneva
J0410–0139 (NSF, 2025) 12.9 billion light-years; observed from when the universe was less than 800 million years old Most distant blazar ever seen, according to NSF’s broader claim

The two claims concern different observational categories and should not be treated as competing measurements of the same record. NSF co-lead Emmanuel Momjian described J0410–0139 as “a unique laboratory to study the interplay between jets, black holes, and their environments during one of the universe’s most transformative epochs.” OP 313 adds a distinct opportunity: observing a blazar’s very-high-energy gamma-ray emission across a long path through the universe.

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AstronomyBlack Holesblazarcosmic noongamma raysOP 313

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