The universe contains many mysterious and powerful objects. This is the case for black holes, which are celestial objects that can absorb immense amounts of matter. But while they remain highly mysterious, scientists have recently measured the jets emitted by one of these objects, revealing their phenomenal power.
It was by studying Cygnus X-1 that they were able to measure this phenomenon. This system, located about 7,200 light-years from Earth, contains the first black hole ever identified, as well as a blue supergiant. In addition, this star is located near the black hole, which constantly absorbs its matter.
Thus, Steve Prabu of the University of Oxford and his team analyzed 18 years of observations from various telescopes around the world. According to their findings, the jets emitted by this black hole have a power equivalent to that of 10,000 suns. That’s not all, because their speed is also estimated at around 355 million mph (about 571 million km/h), which is half the speed of light.
To explain the presence of these jets, scientists believe that the blue supergiant is feeding the black hole. However, some of the absorbed matter is then ejected in the form of jets. Therefore, observing this system could help scientists to better understand how black holes shape their host galaxies. And studying other black holes could also provide many answers about these galactic monsters.