Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
Black holes were long thought to passively consume matter, but new research reveals they actively control their own feeding.
Instead of simply devouring gas, black holes eject powerful outbursts that cool nearby matter, triggering a return flow of fresh fuel.
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Very Large Telescope captured images of this feeding cycle in distant galaxy clusters.
The Perseus and Centaurus Clusters showed clear signs of cold gas filaments condensing and flowing back into the black hole’s gravitational pull.
Black hole outbursts create turbulence in surrounding gas, setting off a chain reaction that enables constant refueling.
Paradoxically, the energy released by black holes helps cool their surroundings, sustaining a cycle of continuous growth.
Some of the cooled gas avoids the black hole and forms new stars, linking black hole activity directly to galaxy evolution.
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The way black holes shed and recycle gas mirrors the behavior of jellyfish galaxies, hinting at universal cosmic mechanisms.
Valeria Olivares and her team at the University of Santiago de Chile plan deeper studies using 3D spectroscopic imaging to refine our understanding.
Representative pic