Astronomers have spotted a rare object called a microblazar. It sits about 12,000 light-years from Earth.

The object, IRAS 18293-0941, was announced on September 22. It is a stellar-mass black hole firing jets at near light speed.

One of its jets points close to Earth. That alignment makes it a microblazar, a scaled-down cousin of giant blazars.

The jets move at about 75% of the speed of light. Such objects are valuable labs for studying extreme physics.

Researchers said the find will help test models of jet formation. More observations are planned.

Blazars are among the brightest objects in the universe. A microblazar is a much smaller version around a stellar black hole. Only a handful are known. The new find was made using radio and X-ray telescopes. Its jets point almost directly at Earth. That lucky alignment makes it easier to study. The discovery paper lists an international team of authors. Follow-up observations with space telescopes are planned. Such finds are rare.