Black Hole Jet Runs Into 'Unidentified Object' In Chandra X-Ray Telescope Observations

Space.com

A black hole jet from the Centaurus A galaxy is "hitting something along its path," that is baffling astronomers. The Chandra X-ray Telescop team takes you on a tour of the system.   Credit: NASA/CXC/A. Hobart

Transcript

00:00Visit Chandra's beautiful universe.

00:06Centaurus A

00:10Even matter ejected by black holes can run into things in the dark.

00:15Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have found an unusual mark

00:20from a giant black hole's powerful jet striking an unidentified object in its path.

00:26The discovery was made in a galaxy called Centaurus A, or CEN A for short,

00:31which is located 12.4 million light-years from Earth.

00:36Astronomers have long studied CEN A because it has a supermassive black hole in its center

00:41sending out spectacular jets that stretch out across the entire galaxy.

00:46In this latest study, researchers determined that the jet is, at least in certain spots,

00:52moving at close to the speed of light. Using the deepest X-ray image ever made of CEN A,

00:57they also found a patch of V-shaped emission connected to a bright source of X-rays,

01:02something that had not been seen before in this galaxy.

01:07Called C4, this source is located close to the path of the jet from the supermassive black hole

01:12and is highlighted here. The arms of the V are at least about 700 light-years long.

01:18For context, the nearest star to Earth is about 4 light-years away.

01:23While the researchers have ideas about what is happening, the identity of the object being blasted

01:28is a mystery because it is too distant for details to be seen,

01:33even in images from the current most powerful telescopes.

01:38The incognito object being rammed may be a massive star, either by itself or with a companion star.

01:48Music

01:53Music

01:58Music

02:03Music

02:08Music

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended