Astronomers have managed to get a closer look at the black hole than ever before, allowing them to study how they send out jets of particles at nearly the speed of light.
These projectiles, travelling at tremendous speeds, are among the brightest objects visible in the universe. Scientists have often wondered what makes these particles travel at such speeds. Some theories suggest that the gigantic black holes warp time and space around them, manipulating magnetic fields and propelling objects outward.
Somewhat confirming that hypothesis, researchers have now noticed jets of particles emerging from the black hole during powerful outbursts. These particles speed away from the black hole in a winding, corkscrew manner.
A team of astronomers examined a galaxy called BL Lacertae, located approximately 950 million light years from Earth. BL Lac contains a black hole 200 million times the size of our Sun.
The close pictures that show material moving outward along a spiral channel were taken by the United States National Science Foundation's Very Long Baseline Array radio telescope, NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and several optical telescopes.
The researchers observed that a bright flare is produced when jets of particles spewing out hit a shock wave beyond the core of the black hole.
The vital information from this research supports the theory that a twisting of magnetic fields was causing the jets of particles to emerge from black holes.
Objects located in the centre of the galaxy, such as stars, get sucked in by the black hole's strong gravitational pull, and circle the hole's core in a disc-like orbit. Scientists believe that the twisted magnetic fields pull these objects off the disc and propel them outward at nearly the speed of light.
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