Black holes caught redirecting their jets like a 'Death Star' weapon • Earth.com

Astronomers have captured supermassive black holes changing the direction of their jets – a cosmic twist that could upend our understanding of star formation and galaxy evolution.

Imagine these giants, millions or even billions of times more massive than our Sun, firing powerful jets of energy like cosmic cannons. What happens when these cannons start to rotate?

Jets from black holes in two groups of galaxies

In a captivating spectacle, supermassive black holes are known to emit powerful jets of energy, often aligned with their axis of rotation.

Imagine a spinning top spewing energy from its poles. However, recent observations have revealed a surprising twist in this celestial configuration.

A team of astronomers, using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array, observed sixteen supermassive black holes spewing jets into space.

Two Chandra images below reveal hot gas in the middle of the Abell 478 galaxy cluster (left) and the NGC 5044 galaxy group (right).

One of sixteen outward-emitting black holes resides at the center of each image. Each black hole is at the center of a galaxy buried in hot gas.

The beams carved out these cavities millions of years ago, indicating the past directions of the beams. An “X” marks the location in the image below of each supermassive black hole.

They noticed that some of these planes had changed direction significantly over time. It's like a spinning top suddenly veering off course.

The researchers found that about a third of the 16 galaxies have beams pointing in completely different directions than before.

In some cases, the beams changed direction by almost 90 degrees. These changes occurred on timescales ranging from a million years to a few tens of millions of years.

Black holes redirect their jets

What could cause these cosmic canons to change course? The direction of a black hole's jet is linked to its axis of rotation.

If matter falling into the black hole approaches at an angle not parallel to the surrounding disk of matter, this can change the rotation of the black hole. This change in rotation can change the direction of the jet.

Black holes generate beams when matter falls on them via a rotating disk of matter. Some of this material is redirected outside.

The direction of these beams aligns with the black hole's spin axis, meaning the beams point along a line connecting the poles.

If the inflow of material is not aligned with the disc, it can tilt the axis of rotation, causing the jet direction to change. These findings reveal the dynamic nature of black holes and their significant influence on the galaxies they inhabit.

Consequences of the change in direction of the black hole

This unexpected change in direction of black hole jets has considerable implications, particularly for star formation within galaxies.

Jets from black holes inject energy into the surrounding gas, preventing it from cooling and forming stars. If these jets change direction, they could suppress star formation over larger areas of the galaxy.

Think of it as a cosmic gardener with a garden hose, watering different parts of the galactic garden. If the hose suddenly changes direction, some areas may be overwatered while others dry out, affecting plant (or in this case, star) growth.

Overview of the dynamic universe

The discovery of these redirected jets from black holes adds another layer of complexity to our understanding of the universe.

This reveals that even the most massive and seemingly stable objects in the cosmos are not immune to change. It reminds us that the universe is a dynamic and ever-changing place, full of surprises just waiting to be discovered.

Scientists believe that jets from black holes and the cavities they create play a crucial role in the formation of stars within galaxies. These beams pump energy into the hot gases in and around the galaxy.

This prevents the gas from cooling enough to form large numbers of new stars. When the beams change direction significantly, they can suppress star formation over much larger areas of the galaxy.

As we continue to explore the cosmos with increasingly sophisticated tools, we are bound to discover more fascinating phenomena that challenge our current understanding of the universe.

The pattern of supermassive black holes is just one example of the many mysteries that await us in the vast expanse of space.

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