Astronomers have recorded a stream of matter in the galaxy M87, which is moving at an apparent speed that exceeds the speed of light. Matter flows out of the vicinity of the Poehi supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy. The discovery is reported by Science Alert.
Scientists have observed the relativistic jet for several years in optical, radio wave and X-ray spectra. Using the Chandra X-ray Space Telescope, it was possible to establish that the real speed of the jet is more than 99 percent of the speed of light. According to scientists, this is the first time that it was possible to establish the value of the extreme flow rate in this area of the spectrum.
The jets are generated by a supermassive black hole that actively absorbs material. Only a small part of the matter gets inside, and the rest is thrown back into space in the form of thin, narrowly directed beams - jets. The jets are heterogeneous and have nodes that can be tracked.
The researchers studied two nodes located at a distance of about 900 and 2500 light years from Poehi. Their apparent speeds turned out to be 6.3 and 2.4 times higher than the speed of light, respectively. Such values are explained by an optical illusion, since the jets move close to the angle of view of the terrestrial observer. In reality, nothing can move faster than the speed of light.
On April 10, 2019, scientists from the European Southern Observatory presented an image of the "shadow" of the Poehi black hole - a dark area against the background of radiation corresponding to the event horizon. This object is located in a galaxy at a distance of 53 million light years from Earth.