Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers mapped plasma “burps” from a feeding supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Zwicky 1.
Zwicky 1 is located about 847 million light years from Earth. Its central black hole has a mass of around 9.3 million suns and is consuming matter at a high rate.
The black hole produces powerful jets and outflows of ionized gas via magnetic fields accelerating particles to near light speed.
Hubble imaged 4 different outflows moving at speeds from 134,000 mph up to 6.5 million mph, around 1% of light speed.
One outflow appeared “caught in the shadow” of another, indicating the black hole’s environment is more active than typical quasars.
This is the first time astronomers have directly imaged and characterized outflows from a feeding supermassive black hole, providing insights into their growth and interactions.
Source: Space
