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An artistic representation of the roaming supermassive black hole, which is leaving a “vapor trail” of fresh stars extending approximately 200,000 light-years. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak (STScI))ShareShare by:
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A cosmic disturbance, situated far off in the cosmos, could be the clear indicator of the inaugural validated “uncontrolled” supermassive black hole, breaking free from its parent galaxy at a rate of 2.2 million miles per hour (3.6 million km/h).
The likely validation by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), shared on the digital archive Arxiv on December 3, awaits assessment by experts. Nonetheless, it has been put forward to Astrophysical Journal Letters, and Pieter van Dokkum, the primary writer and a professor of astronomy and physics from Yale University, has released numerous expert-evaluated articles concerning possible supermassive black holes recently.
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Following a trail of stars
The likely black hole was initially noted during 2023 by van Dokkum’s group, who recognized a light streak within a recorded image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. This sighting appeared so odd, the team took further observations utilizing the Keck Observatory situated in Hawaii.
Data collected then indicated the black hole possessing a mass equivalent to 20 million suns, and this peculiar streak represented a “trail” of young stars stretching across 200,000 light-years—twice the spread of our whole Milky Way. The Hubble image captures a moment in time when the universe was around half the 13.8 billion years that it is today.
“We assumed this strange object might be a supermassive black hole on the loose, yet we lacked definite proof,” van Dokkum clarified. Thus, concerning their latest analysis, the team depended on JWST, an observatory positioned in deep space recognized for its distinctive “responsiveness and focus,” according to van Dokkum, “for spotting the bow wave produced by the accelerating black hole.”
The consequent imagery filled the team with astonishment.
A Hubble Space Telescope image displaying the vicinity enveloping the potential runaway black hole, outlined by the box. The path marked by the black hole is so subdued; initially, researchers considered it as a fault from Hubble’s cameras.
JWST’s instrument that operates in the mid-infrared section rendered the shockwave, also called the bow shock, on the leading periphery of the likely black hole’s path of escape with unparalleled precision. “It shares similarities with the ripples that ships generate,” van Dokkum added. “Here, a black hole serves as the ship and, being quite difficult to perceive, we perceive the ‘water’ — essentially, hydrogen and oxygen gas — that [the black hole] forces ahead.”
Van Dokkum felt amazed. “Everything related to this object suggested it had distinctiveness, though noticing this unmistakable mark in the data made me extremely satisfied,” he stated.
Beyond JWST’s absolute resolution, Van Dokkum mentioned his research revealed that the details matched prior data from Hubble and Keck operating in varied light frequencies. Such data “all bring together various puzzle fragments,” as he described, “and they integrate perfectly — precisely matching hypothetical predictions.”
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A supermassive enigma
JWST’s observations confirm notable marks of a shockwave or bow shock on the leading edge of the runaway object.
Investigating uncontrolled black holes, analogous to the current likely case, illustrates aspects to researchers regarding the progression of both galaxies and black holes, expressed van Dokkum. The majority of major galaxies hold supermassive black holes at their core, inclusive of our very own Milky Way. If such holes can exit their tightly kept galactic bonds still stands as a lasting puzzle.
As van Dokkum describes, a supermassive black hole could only exit a galaxy if two such entities came uniquely close to each other, thereby the intense gravitational exchanges “ejecting” one from its original position.
The updated investigation proposes the probable uncontrolled entity arose subsequent to a minimum of two, and possibly three, black holes intermingling. Holding masses surpassing at least 10 million suns for each, van Dokkum stated the intensity surrounding this phenomenon must have been “remarkable.”
Regarding future areas for tracking uncontrolled supermassive black holes, the research document mentions “several hopeful candidates,” though interpreting the functions of such setups presents difficulties. One instance involves the unclear entity recognized as the “Cosmic Owl,” which lies approximately 11 billion light-years from our planet.
The Cosmic Owl, in line with the recent document, contains two galactic cores—each having a functioning supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s center—accompanied by a third supermassive black hole unusually “settled within a cloud of gas” nestled between both galaxies.
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Disputes surround the route the third black hole undertook to lodge within its gas cloud. Certain researchers suggest this black hole may have separated from one of its parent galaxies, but observations done via JWST through van Dokkum’s organization refute this hypothesis. Their studies imply a higher likelihood of the displaced black hole “… being created on-site through direct contraction” concerning gas, caused through shockwaves as two galaxies closely came near one another.
This, coupled with further potential cases of black hole breakaway events, requires even more thorough research. Van Dokkum cited the Euclid mission alongside the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman space telescopes as prospective instruments for conducting surveys, being designed for comprehensive sky observations as opposed to JWST. “This helps identify the regularity in which events of such kind take place — details of great interest for our understanding.”
TOPICSJames Webb Space Telescope
Elizabeth HowellLive Science Contributor
Elizabeth Howell worked as staff reporter at Space.com from 2022 to 2024 and offered regular contributions at Live Science and Space.com spanning 2012 to 2022. Elizabeth’s work included numerous exclusive insights coming from the White House, communicating many times alongside personnel from the International Space Station, recording five spaceflight introductions spanning two continents, experiencing weightlessness, functioning inside a spacesuit, also taking part inside a simulation of a manned mission to Mars. Her newest composition, entitled “Why Am I Taller?” (ECW Press, 2022) comes as a co-written project completed alongside astronaut Dave Williams.
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