SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE: Some types of supermassive black holes shoot out jets of electromagnetic radiation including radio waves which can be detected by radio telescopes.

Pinpointing a supermassive black hole in a distant galaxy by the Warkworth Radio Astronomical Observatory has confirmed New Zealand as a serious contributor to international radio astronomy.

That's the view of Director of Institute for Radio Astronomy and Space Research (IRASR) at Auckland University of Technology Professor Sergei Gulyaev.

"Identification of a gamma-ray source with a radio active object is an important scientific event, as it allows us to learn a lot about the nature of this mysterious and extremely powerful object," he said.

JASON OXENHAM/AUT BIG DISH: The 30 metre radio telescope at the Warkworth Radio Astronomical Observatory was able to pinpoint a supermassive blackhole over 3 billion light-years away.

Hundreds of gamma ray sources have been picked up by the Fermi Gamma–ray Space Telescope as it scans distant space.

The observatory, in low-Earth orbit since 2008, is a joint venture by NASA, the United States Department of Energy, and government agencies in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan.

Gamma-rays are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, as is visible light and radio waves.

DELWYN DICKEY/Fairfax NZ IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION: Sergei Gulyaev, left, with Lewis Ball.

Gamma–ray sources Fermi is picking up are often from distant galaxies with much brighter centres than usual called active galactic nuclei (AGN) which emit high levels of radiation.

Supermassive black holes at the centres of these galaxies eject the radiation as they suck in surrounding gas, dust and other material.

This strong and distinctive radiation being shot out into space can cover the entire electromagnetic spectrum, and helps to identify some very distant sources as galaxies, even if they are not visible.

NASA/Supplied SPACE VIEW: In low-Earth orbit since 2008, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has been cataloguing gamma-ray sources in deep space.

One type of AGN shoots out two jets of radiation including strong radio waves from the centre of the black hole like a spinning top. These can be picked up by radio telescopes.

The Warkworth 30m radio telescope was hooked up with two radio telescopes in Australia in December, at Hobart and Ceduna. For 24 hours the team of astronomers ran through a series of 225 radio sources Fermi had confirmed were also emitting gamma-rays.

Called very long base interferometry (LVBI), this sees radio telescopes working in unison across long distances, synthesising a single massive telescope.

SUPPLIED GAMMA-RAY SOURCE: Radio waves detectable by the Warkworth radio telescope confirm they come from a supermassive black hole in a galaxy over 3 billion light years away.

This gives very fine resolution and means scientists can pin point radio sources with extreme accuracy not possible with a single telescope. The base line for the three telescopes is 3700km.

They were able to improve angular resolution by a factor of 30,000 and instantly confirm an unidentified source as coming from a nearby AGN at least 3 billion light-years from Earth.

"The gamma-ray source 2FGL J1032.9-8401 cannot be seen from the northern hemisphere. The emergence of a world class radio telescope in New Zealand is very important news for many applications, for example unveiling the nature of gamma-ray sources." Gulyaev said.

The long observational session also saw the Warkworth team able to pinpoint their own position to within 1cm. This will now see the 30 m telescope able to be used for monitoring plate tectonic motion and Earth rotation.

Formerly launched as a telecommunications antenna in 1984 by New Zealand Post Office and later Telecom, the facility near Warkworth was transferred to IRASR in 2010 with the conversion to the radio telescope completed in 2014.

This is the first scientific paper from the telescope and has been submitted to the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia.