Study Finds Black Hole Winds Hit 100x Power, Reaching 300,000 Light-Years
Updated
Updated · Space.com · Aug 13
Study Finds Black Hole Winds Hit 100x Power, Reaching 300,000 Light-Years
1 articles · Updated · Space.com · Aug 13
Summary
XRISM observations of quasar H1821+643 showed an actively feeding supermassive black hole drives turbulence out to about 300,000 light-years, far beyond its host galaxy.
The study estimates those winds are roughly 100 times more powerful than previously thought, injecting energy comparable to several billion supernovae into surrounding hot gas.
A weeklong September 2024 campaign tracked broadened signatures of ionized iron in the gas, letting researchers measure how fast it was moving and how strongly the quasar had stirred it.
H1821+643 lies 3.4 billion light-years from Earth at the center of a galaxy cluster and contains a black hole about 3 billion to 4 billion times the sun's mass.
The Nature Astronomy paper adds to evidence that supermassive black holes shape not just their galaxies but the wider cluster environment through large-scale energy outflows.
100x Stronger Quasar Winds Discovered by XRISM: H1821+643’s Black Hole Drives Turbulence Across 300,000 Light-Years
Overview
Using the XRISM satellite's advanced Resolve instrument, researchers directly observed dramatic broadening of iron X-ray emission lines in the galaxy cluster H1821+643. This revealed highly turbulent, violently dispersing hot gas driven by the central black hole's powerful winds, which extend up to 300,000 light-years and scatter heavy elements like iron far beyond the host galaxy, enriching the intergalactic medium. Despite this immense activity, the black hole currently generates less heat than others, allowing rapid cooling and fueling intense star formation and black hole growth. However, this state is temporary—eventually, stronger jets will halt both star formation and black hole feeding.