Odd Radio Circles (ORCs):
Citizen scientists from India’s RAD@home astronomy group, led by Prof. Ananda Hota of the University of Mumbai, have discovered a rare twin “Odd Radio Circle” (double ORC) using LOFAR telescope data only the second such known instance globally. Odd Radio Circles (ORCs) are mysterious, circular astronomical structures visible only in radio wavelengths. They are vast rings of radio emission surrounding distant galaxies, thought to arise from powerful shockwaves caused by extreme galactic events such as black hole mergers or massive energy outflows. First identified in 2019 through data from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope, and later studied using international facilities such as LOFAR and India’s Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT).
