A team of astronomers has discovered a mysterious blockade, dubbed C4, blocking the flow of material from a black hole 12 million light-years away. The structure appeared in a recent ultra-deep X-ray image taken by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, which is also the deepest X-ray image ever captured of the galaxy Centaurus A.
Black holes are regions of spacetime with intense gravity that can trap light and matter. They often emit powerful jets of particles that can cause stellar eruptions or even create massive structures. The jet in question is 30,000 light-years long and hits something in space, but its exact target remains unknown.
The blockade, C4, has a unique V-shaped structure with arms stretching 700 light-years in length, despite being much smaller than the jet on the other side of the black hole. This suggests that the jet’s interaction with the object is complex and may be related to the type of material or gas it encounters.
While astronomers have previously observed black hole jets striking objects, this particular V-shape is irregular and warrants further investigation. Researchers are already working to unravel the mystery of C4 and its connection to the black hole’s jet.
The discovery highlights the extreme physics at play in black holes and the vastness of the universe, where objects can be millions of light-years apart. As researchers continue to study this phenomenon, they may uncover more secrets about these enigmatic objects and their role in shaping the cosmos.
Source: https://gizmodo.com/jaw-dropping-image-captures-black-hole-jet-smashing-into-mystery-object-2000536858