The image of a massive, aggressive black hole that prevents its host galaxy from forming new stars has been captured by the XMM-Newton space telescope.
Recently, astronomers from the XMM-Newton space telescope of the European Space Agency (ESA) explored a galaxy named Markarian 817 (Mrk 817), located 430 million light-years away in the constellation Draco. They discovered a supermassive black hole raging on a scale across the host galaxy.
According to experts, this supermassive black hole has a mass ranging from millions to billions of times that of the Sun. The black hole’s immense gravitational force heats gas and dust, causing it to glow at the center of the host galaxy. Additionally, a strong magnetic field causes material falling into this black hole to explode at nearly the speed of light.
The massive aggressive black hole prevents its host galaxy from forming new stars. (Illustration: Sophia Dagnello, NRAO, AUI, NSF; NASA and STScI).
Not only does this supermassive black hole exhibit chaotic activity, but it also displays more aggressive behavior by ejecting extreme jets of gas from the accretion disks surrounding it in all directions. This leads to the phenomenon of powerful black hole winds that push molecular gas streams out of its host galaxy, thereby halting star formation across a vast area in the Markarian 817 galaxy.
Elias Kammoun, a member of the team and a postdoctoral researcher at Sapienza University of Rome, told Space.com: “It is extremely rare to observe black hole winds with enough energy to alter the characteristics of their host galaxy. This discovery provides substantial evidence that the activity of central supermassive black holes plays a crucial role in shaping and influencing the evolution of their host galaxies. However, the conditions that trigger the aggression of this black hole are still unclear, necessitating further research.”
Moreover, experts are still uncertain about the origins of supermassive black holes and how they can accumulate such enormous masses.
The evolution of supermassive black holes remains a hotly debated topic. Humanity is still unaware if they form in the same way, or if multiple mechanisms are at play.
