USNA Midshipman reveals surprising properties of distant galaxies

WASHINGTON, D.C – Typically, summer internships are about gaining work experience and networking. But for Midshipman Olivia Rae Achenbach, her summer internship at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) helped reveal surprising properties of our distant galaxies. 

Her research outlined in a NASA news release earned her an invitation to give a press conference at the 245th American Astronomical Society (AAS) Meeting at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, Jan. 13. Steadying her nerves, Achenbach gave a well-prepared talk for the standing room only crowd of about 100 people with many more on the livestream.

Flashback to last summer when it all started. Achenbach was participating in the NRL Summer Internship Program for midshipmen. As a U.S. Naval Academy astrophysics major, she worked with Kristina Nyland, Ph.D., in NRL’s High Angular Resolution Imaging Section.

For four-weeks, Achenbach researched the evolution of galaxies by examining a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of an active galactic nucleus that began emitting radio jets – a powerful stream of highly energetic particles emanating from the center of a galaxy that emits strong radio waves. The radio waves are produced by interactions between charged particles and the magnetic field of a supermassive black hole in the center of a galaxy.  

Nyland first discovered the jets in 2017 and was awarded follow-up observing time with the HST to study the host galaxy morphology and environment to investigate how and why the jets were triggered. In the summer of 2024, Nyland and Achenbach set out to learn more.

“The leading theories are that jets are triggered by galaxy mergers/interactions or internal processes, but there isn’t yet a consensus among astronomers about which scenario dominates,” Nyland said. 

Nyland gave Achenbach the opportunity to lead the HST analyses. After modeling and subtracting the bright quasar emission from the image, they discovered an underlying galaxy morphology that was not expected.

“At first, I was worried I had made an error," said Achenbach.

“I could see that the quasar had a tidal tail in the original HST image,” Nyland said. “However, I was surprised to see the spiral structure as well as the disturbed morphology of the tidal companion galaxy that I hadn’t noticed previously.”

They expected to find a galaxy morphology with an elliptical shape. Instead, they saw a galaxy with spiral arms.

“I thought something might have gone wrong with the modeling,” Nyland said. 

After confirming the modeling using multiple software packages, Nyland said, “It’s real!”

"It's extremely rare and exciting to find a quasar-hosting galaxy with spiral arms and a black hole that is more than 400 million times the mass of the Sun — which is pretty big — plus young jets that weren't detectable 20 years ago," she said.

The finding offers a new starting point for research, including gaining a better understanding of how the quasar jets are triggered and how the quasar interacts with other galaxies.

“It is critical that astronomers uncover these mysteries as active galactic nuclei,” Achenbach said.

Understanding the physics of jet triggering, formation, and growth is valuable to the Navy for determining the stability and reliability of quasars used for navigation.

“This study provides new insights into how galaxies and supermassive black holes grow and change over time,” Nyland said. “This finding has the potential to inform cosmological simulations of galaxy formation and evolution to better understand the cosmic history of the Universe.”

In addition to Achenbach’s AAS press conference on Jan. 13, Nyland and Achenbach are working on a research article for the Astrophysical Journal.

Achenbach said she is grateful for the opportunity to work with Nyland.

“She was thoughtful and compassionate enough to find a research project related to my passions and my future research interests at the Naval Academy,” she added. “She taught me how integral astronomy is to the Fleet through its navigational uses.”

NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps. It is proud to partner with students, universities, industry and other thought leaders around the world.

“These bright and motivated young scientists and engineers gained invaluable hands-on experience contributing to cutting-edge research projects that support the Navy’s mission,” said NRL Commanding Officer Capt. Jesse Black. “The internship program offers midshipmen the unique opportunity to apply their academic knowledge to real-world challenges, working alongside world-renowned scientists and engineers.”

The USNA Summer Internship Program is just one of many ways college students, post-docs, faculty and professionals can get involved with NRL.

About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps from the seafloor to space and in the information domain. NRL is located in Washington, D.C. with major field sites in Stennis Space Center, Mississippi; Key West, Florida; Monterey, California, and employs approximately 3,000 civilian scientists, engineers and support personnel.
 
For more information, contact NRL Corporate Communications at (202) 480-3746 or nrlpao@nrl.navy.mil.