Current:Home > ScamsJames Webb Telescope reveals mystery about the energy surrounding a black hole-InfoLens
James Webb Telescope reveals mystery about the energy surrounding a black hole
View Date:2024-12-23 14:40:30
A team of scientists used the James Webb Space Telescope to peer through the veil of dust surrounding a faraway supermassive black hole, revealing that energy around the hole comes from jets of gas colliding together at near light speed.
The Webb telescope, the most powerful ever, targeted the giant black hole at the center of a galaxy known as ESO 428-G14 about 70 million light-years away, according to Space.com.
As with our home galaxy, the Milky Way, a supermassive black hole sits at its center, gobbling up any matter in its path. A black hole is an area with such strong gravitational pull that nothing, not even light, can escape the hole's grasp.
The team turned the telescope toward a hot cloud of dust and gas swirling around the black hole. What they saw revealed that energy in the cloud was generating jets of gas crashing into each other at light speeds, heating up the veil of dust. Dust near the black hole spreads out along the gas jets, which may be responsible for the shape of the dust that scientists see around the black hole, the team found.
Jets of gas surrounding a supermassive black hole can stretch anywhere from a few light-years across to beyond the reaches of their home galaxy, according to the Webb telescope's findings.
Scientists earlier had thought the energy heating the dust clouds came from radiation caused by the black hole itself.
"We did not expect to see radio jets do this sort of damage. And yet here it is!'' David Rosario, a senior lecturer at Newcastle University who co-wrote the study, said in a news release from the university on Tuesday.
The discovery came from a project called the Galactic Activity, Torus, and Outflow Survey (GATOS) that aims to uncover the secrets of the supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies. The team published its findings in the science journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on Tuesday.
Never seen before images:NASA releases eye-popping images of nebulae, galaxies in space
Supermassive black holes at center of almost all galaxies eat planets, stars
Almost all galaxies have supermassive black holes, also called active galactic nuclei, or AGN, lying at their center, scientists now believe. These black holes grow as they consume planets, stars, gas and even other black holes that lie in their path.
Supermassive black holes also feed on the cloud of spinning particles and gas surrounding them, also called an accretion disk.
Light can't escape a black hole, making it impossible to get a direct view through a telescope. But scientists can learn about a black hole by turning their sights to these clouds of gas.
The Webb telescope uses infrared waves to pick up information on these clouds and allows scientists a glimpse through them at the galaxy's center.
Can you fall into a black hole?NASA simulations provide an answer
Supermassive black holes, the largest type of black holes, have a mass more than 1 million times that of our sun, according to NASA. Researchers think they may form alongside their home galaxy. The first supermassive black holes likely formed soon after the big bang gave birth to the universe.
veryGood! (57)
Related
- As Northeast wildfires keep igniting, is there a drought-buster in sight?
- Judge finds former Ohio lawmaker guilty of domestic violence in incident involving his wife
- Jay-Z Reveals Why Blue Ivy Now Asks Him for Fashion Advice
- Kings coach Mike Brown focuses postgame press conference on Maine shooting
- Record-setting dry conditions threaten more US wildfires, drinking water supplies
- Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas. If that happens, who will lead the Palestinians in Gaza?
- There is no clear path for women who want to be NFL coaches. Can new pipelines change that?
- Patrick Dempsey Speaks Out on Mass Shooting in His Hometown of Lewiston, Maine
- Man is 'not dead anymore' after long battle with IRS, which mistakenly labeled him deceased
- What happened to the internet without net neutrality?
Ranking
- Powerball winning numbers for Nov. 13 drawing: Jackpot rises to $113 million
- Details of the tentative UAW-Ford agreement that would end 41-day strike
- Federal judge rules Georgia's district lines violated Voting Rights Act and must be redrawn
- Israel-Hamas war upends years of conventional wisdom. Leaders give few details on what comes next
- Arkansas governor unveils $102 million plan to update state employee pay plan
- Rays push for swift approval of financing deal for new Tampa Bay ballpark, part of $6B development
- Attorneys for Mel Tucker, Brenda Tracy agree on matter of cellphone messages
- NFL Week 8 picks: Buccaneers or Bills in battle of sliding playoff hopefuls?
Recommendation
-
Tua Tagovailoa tackle: Dolphins QB laughs off taking knee to head vs. Rams on 'MNF'
-
'Diaries of War' traces two personal accounts — one from Ukraine, one from Russia
-
Jason Momoa reunites with high school girlfriend 25 years later: See their romance in pics
-
Emily in Paris Costars Ashley Park and Paul Forman Spark Romance Rumors With Cozy Outing
-
1 million migrants in the US rely on temporary protections that Trump could target
-
2% of kids and 7% of adults have gotten the new COVID shots, US data show
-
Former President George W. Bush to throw out ceremonial first pitch before World Series opener
-
There is no clear path for women who want to be NFL coaches. Can new pipelines change that?