Astronomers Measure Black Hole Jet Power and Speed for First Time
For the first time, an international research team has successfully measured the instantaneous power and speed of jets erupting from a black hole. The study, published in Nature Astronomy, focused on Cygnus X-1, a binary system located 7,200 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. Led by Steve Prabu of the University of Oxford, formerly at Curtin University, the team utilized 18 years of high-resolution radio imaging from a global telescope network. They determined that the jet power is equivalent to 10,000 suns, with speeds reaching approximately 355 million mph, or half the speed of light. Unlike previous methods that averaged power over millennia, this approach captured real-time dynamics by analyzing how stellar winds from the companion blue supergiant star bent the jets. The findings reveal that 10% of the energy from matter falling into the black hole is expelled via these jets. This breakthrough provides crucial insights into how black holes influence galaxy formation through large-scale shocks and turbulence, marking a significant advancement in astrophysical understanding.
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Astronomers Measure Black Hole Jet Power and Speed for First Time
For the first time, an international research team has successfully measured the instantaneous power and speed of jets erupting from a black hole. The study, published in Nature Astronomy, focused on Cygnus X-1, a binary system located 7,200 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. Led by Steve Prabu of the University of Oxford, formerly at Curtin University, the team utilized 18 years of high-resolution radio imaging from a global telescope network. They determined that the jet power is equivalent to 10,000 suns, with speeds reaching approximately 355 million mph, or half the speed of light. Unlike previous methods that averaged power over millennia, this approach captured real-time dynamics by analyzing how stellar winds from the companion blue supergiant star bent the jets. The findings reveal that 10% of the energy from matter falling into the black hole is expelled via these jets. This breakthrough provides crucial insights into how black holes influence galaxy formation through large-scale shocks and turbulence, marking a significant advancement in astrophysical understanding.
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