27-year video reshapes understanding of a distant blazar jet

Scientists created a 27-year video reconstruction of the jet from blazar 3C 345, using very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) and a deep‑learning model called Kine to map brightness over time. The continuous video reveals that the bright jet features move at speeds nearly equal to the bulk plasma flow, challenging the idea that knots are faster shocks, and suggesting revisions to jet dynamics models. The method, which delivers two orders of magnitude better dynamic range and four times better resolution, will be applied to other blazars, with the study published in Nature (August 2026).