OP 313 is the most distant blazar detected at very-high-energy gamma rays, according to a University of Geneva report on observations first made in December 2023. That is a narrower claim than “most distant blazar ever”: the National Science Foundation reported J0410–0139 as the most distant blazar identified overall in 2025.
What makes OP 313’s detection a record?
OP 313 is a flat-spectrum radio quasar, a type of blazar. Blazars are active galactic nuclei with relativistic jets aimed nearly toward Earth, making their central engines and jets comparatively accessible to observation. The record claim concerns the blazar detected at very-high-energy gamma rays—not the most distant object identified as a blazar by any method or at any wavelength.
The University of Geneva says OP 313’s gamma-ray emission 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 describes the gamma rays as having traveled approximately eight billion light-years. Because cosmological distance measures are not all interchangeable, that figure is best read as the release’s reported distance for the arriving radiation, not as a universal distance definition. University of Geneva’s October 6, 2026 announcement identifies the result and the journal paper in Astronomy & Astrophysics (DOI 10.1051/0004-6361/202558646).
How does this compare with the most distant blazar ever identified?
The claims refer to different observing categories, so they are not contradictory.
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| Object | Claim | Reported distance or epoch | What the comparison means |
|---|---|---|---|
| OP 313 | Most distant blazar detected at very-high-energy gamma rays, as reported by the University of Geneva in 2026 | Approximately eight billion light-years for the gamma rays, according to the university | A record within the very-high-energy gamma-ray detection category |
| J0410–0139 | Most distant blazar ever seen, according to the National Science Foundation in 2025 | 12.9 billion light-years; observed as it was when the universe was less than 800 million years old | A broader blazar-identification claim, not the same waveband-specific record |
The National Science Foundation’s January 10, 2025 account describes J0410–0139 as a view into an earlier cosmic era. The distance figures and record labels should not be treated as like-for-like measurements: the claims use different detection categories and observing methods.
Why is it difficult to detect gamma rays from so far away?
On their journey, gamma rays encounter the extragalactic background light (EBL), the accumulated radiation from cosmic sources. A gamma ray can interact with this background and produce an electron-positron pair, reducing the gamma-ray signal that reaches Earth. This attenuation makes a distant source harder to observe at very high energies.
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By analyzing LST-1 and MAGIC observations alongside lower-energy data, the researchers characterized the attenuation and the source’s changing flux. The long path through the universe makes OP 313 useful for studying how the EBL affects high-energy light, as well as for testing the reach of very-high-energy gamma-ray observations.
What powers OP 313’s intense gamma-ray emission?
The team says a leptonic scenario can explain the observed emission: a dense population of relativistic electrons in the jet transfers energy to lower-energy photons, boosting them to gamma-ray energies. In the University of Geneva release, co-author Domenico Della Volpe describes electrons accelerated close to the speed of light in the plasma jet expelled by OP 313’s central supermassive black hole.
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This interpretation links the detection to a broader question in astrophysics: how particles gain extreme energies in jets from active galactic nuclei. The observation constrains a plausible explanation for OP 313’s gamma rays; it does not establish that every blazar produces its emission through the same process.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does “cosmic noon” mean here?
The university places the source’s emission around the beginning of cosmic noon, a period of strong star and galaxy formation. Axel Arbet-Engels, a corresponding author, described cosmic noon as a peak-activity period around 11 billion years ago. The phrase refers to the era represented by the light, not to the present-day age or location of OP 313.
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What the discovery does—and does not—show
- It shows that a blazar at this reported distance can be detected in very-high-energy gamma rays with observations involving LST-1 and MAGIC.
- It helps researchers study particle acceleration in a relativistic jet and the attenuation of gamma rays by the EBL.
- It does not show that OP 313 is the earliest black hole, or the most distant blazar across all wavelengths and selection methods.
- It does not establish how common OP 313-like objects are; the reported discovery alone is not a population estimate.
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