Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics.
Black HolesAstronomers watch 1st black hole ever imaged launch a 3,000‑light‑year‑long cosmic jet from its glowing 'shadow'Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsSign up to our monthly entertainment newsletter to keep up with all our coverage of the latest sci-fi and space movies, tv shows, games and books.
Discover this week's must-see night sky events, moon phases, and stunning astrophotos. Sign up for our skywatching newsletter and explore the universe with us!Space.com's Sci-Fi Reader's Club. Read a sci-fi short story every month and join a virtual community of fellow science fiction fans!Scientists have long suspected that active supermassive black holes can kill their own host galaxies, but new research suggests these cosmic titans are more like serial killers that can extend their murderous rampage across many light-years and destroy neighboring galaxies, too.are known to cause this when they are actively feeding, as they heat their larder of gas and dust, provoking that matter content to emit powerful radiation. This radiation either pushes away gas, the building blocks of— thereby starving the galaxies and black holes themselves — or simply heats that gas and prevents it from cooling enough to collapse and birth a stellar body. Both outcomes can slow or even stop star formation. "Traditionally, people have thought that because galaxies are so far apart, they evolve largely on their own," team leader Yongda Zhu of the University of Arizona."But we found that a very active, supermassive black hole in one galaxy can affect other galaxies across millions of light-years, suggesting that galaxy evolution may be more of a group effort."'Death by a thousand cuts': James Webb Space Telescope figures out how black hole murdered Pablo's GalaxyZhu and colleagues point out that this influence suggests the existence of a"galactic ecosystem" akin to the linked ecosystems of"An active supermassive black hole is like a hungry predator dominating the ecosystem," he said."Simply put, it swallows up matter and influences how stars in nearby galaxies grow."are thought to dwell at the hearts of all large galaxies, not all of these objects are cosmic killers. For instance, Sagittarius A* at the heart of themay once have quenched star formation in our galaxy, but today it is quiet, existing on a diet equivalent to a human eating one grain of rice every million years. Active supermassive black holes greedily feast on matter from a surrounding swirling cloud called an accretion disk. Their immense gravity generates tidal forces in this accretion disk that cause intense friction, resulting in high temperatures that cause this region to brightly glow across the electromagnetic spectrum. This turbulent region, an Active Galactic Nucleus , can be seen from across the cosmos as a phenomenon known as a"Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors Not all of the matter in an accretion disk is channeled to the black hole, however. Some matter is channeled to the poles of the supermassive black hole from where it is blasted out as parallel twin jets travelling at near light-speeds. These jets can stretch out far beyond the limits of the galaxy that hosts the active supermassive black hole. It is little wonder, given the intense radiation of the accretion disk and the violent outflows represented by these twin jets, that active supermassive black holes have a powerful influence over the evolution of their host galaxies. began investigating the cosmos, a curious pattern has emerged regarding quasars. The more massive and powerful these active supermassive black holes are, the less they seem to be surrounded by neighboring galaxies. That's curious because large galaxies are usually found clustered together, not in isolation.'Death by a thousand cuts': James Webb Space Telescope figures out how black hole murdered Pablo's Galaxy"We were puzzled," Zhu explained."Was the expensive JWST broken?" he added with a laugh."Then we realized the galaxies might actually be there, but difficult to detect because their very recent star formation was suppressed." Zhu and colleagues began to suspect that bright quasars may not just be dampening star formation in their own galactic backyards; they may be disturbing the neighbors, too. To investigate the possibility of active supermassive black holes killing star formation in neighboring galaxies, the team set about studying one of the brightest quasars ever seen, J0100+2802. This quasar existed when the universe was less than 1 billion years old, and its central engine is a supermassive black hole with around 12 billion times the mass of the sun. Using the JWST, the scientists hunted for traces of ionized oxygen in the galaxies around J0100+2802, which is a sign of recent star formation. They found this tracer of star birth was much scarcer in galaxies within a million light-years of the powerful quasar than in galaxies outside that radius. That hints at squashed star formation in these proximate galaxies. "Black holes are known to 'eat' a lot of stuff, but during the active eating process and in their luminous quasar form, they also emit very strong radiation. The intense heat and radiation split the molecular hydrogen that makes up vast, interstellar gas clouds, quenching its potential to accumulate and turn into new stars," Zhu said."For the first time, we have evidence that this radiation impacts the universe on an intergalactic scale. "Quasars don't just suppress stars in their host galaxies, but also in nearby galaxies within a radius of at least a million light-years." The team now intends to look for this effect in other so-called quasar fields to develop a clearer picture of how supermassive black holes influence their cosmic neighborhoods. "Understanding how galaxies influenced one another in the early universe helps us better understand how our own galaxy came to be," Zhu said."Now we realize that supermassive black holes may have played a much larger role in galaxy evolution than we once thought — acting as cosmic predators, influencing the growth of stars in nearby galaxies during the early universe." Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.’s Open University. Follow him on Twitter @sciencef1rst.'We almost did have a really terrible day.' NASA now says Boeing's 1st Starliner astronaut flight was a 'Type A mishap' The James Webb Space Telescope just mapped auroras on Uranus in 3D for the 1st time, and scientists are thrilled The James Webb Space Telescope just mapped auroras on Uranus in 3D for the 1st time, and scientists are thrilled 'We almost did have a really terrible day.' NASA now says Boeing's 1st Starliner astronaut flight was a 'Type A mishap'
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