Scientists have discovered a black hole, the plasma jet of which is three times the diameter of the Milky Way and is 300 thousand light years. Astronomers also managed to get unique photos of the beam.
Supermassive black holes exist at the center of almost every galaxy. They periodically consume stars and other celestial bodies. At the same time, they emit a kind of plasma beams (jets) that move at a near-light speed.
Scientists from the University of Hertfordshire, led by Martin Hardcastle, have been observing an unusual spiral galaxy in the constellation Painter for 15 years. At the center of the Pictor A galaxy is a large black hole weighing tens of millions of Suns. Its jet is clearly visible from Earth in the radio and X-ray range.
Photo: NASA
Moreover, the jet of the black hole extends for 300 thousand light years, while the diameter of the Milky Way is 100 thousand light years. The photographs taken by the scientists also show a faint backward jet emanating from a black hole. Its weakness is due to its reverse motion in relation to the line of sight from Earth.
Jet Study Results
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Scientists have studied the structure of the beam and found that there are several zones of increased brightness inside it. Astronomers have called them knots. It turned out that the X-ray glow of a jet is generated by its magnetic field during deceleration in these regions.
Image of a beam in radio emission.
Photo: NASA
It was previously thought that electrons flying from a black hole at the speed of light could travel through the background cosmic radiation left over from the Big Bang. As a result of the collision of an electron with a photon, light appears visible in the X-ray range. However, scientists rejected this theory, since the brightness and energy of the jet in this case would not coincide with what astronomers saw.
The light is not emitted by the black hole itself. Gas that enters the black hole forms an accretion disk. There it heats up to 10 million degrees Celsius. As a result, soft X-rays are generated. Hard radiation comes from a rarefied hot region of the accretion disk.
Now scientists have to learn how the electrons inside the jet are accelerated and decelerated, flying so far distances. Astronomers hope to find the answer to their question by further studying the unusual galaxy.
