Milky Way's black hole 'exhaust vent' discovered in eerie X-ray observations

By Brandon Specktor
published June 27, 2024

A gargantuan "exhaust vent" may be channeling hot gas away from the Milky Way's supermassive black hole at millions of miles per hour — and filling up two enormous bubbles that tower over the galaxy.



A composite image taken with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and MeerKAT radio telescope shows the Milky Way's supermassive black hole (circled at left) linked to a huge blue exhaust vent (circled at right) by a stream of gas spanning 700 light-years long (Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Chicago/S.C. Mackey et al.; Radio: NRF/SARAO/MeerKAT; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk)


The monster black hole at the center of our galaxy may be unleashing huge, gassy explosions — and now, astronomers think they've pinpointed the exact spot where that superheated gas is spilling into the Milky Way.

Acting like a gargantuan exhaust vent, the newly discovered feature is a bright region of X-ray energy that's nearly 700 light-years from the galaxy's supermassive black hole but linked to it by a long "chimney" of superhot gas.

According to new research accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, this spray of X-rays results from hot, black-hole-driven gas traveling up the chimney and colliding with cooler gas in the surrounding environment at more than 2 million mph (3.2 million km/h), sending enormous shock waves rippling through the galaxy.

. . .

"Astrophysicists have long been interested in the movement of material and energy from the Milky Way's center and its black hole, both to understand what's happening in our cosmic backyard and how galaxies form and evolve," lead study author Scott Mackey, an astrophysicist at the University of Chicago, said in a statement. "We're really excited to find this new piece of the puzzle."

More:
https://www.livescience.com/space/black-holes/milky-ways-black-hole-exhaust-vent-discovered-in-eerie-x-ray-observations