US EditionJames Webb Telescope Confirms a Supermassive Black Hole Running Away From Its Host Galaxy at 2 Million Mph, Researchers Say
A 10 million-solar-mass black hole was ejected by gravitational recoil from a merger and moves at 954 km/s, creating a galaxy-sized bow shock with a 200,000-light-year star-forming wake.
- James Webb Space Telescope observations confirmed RBH-1 as the first runaway supermassive black hole, at least 10 million times the Sun’s mass, moving around 954 kilometers per second.
- Researchers say the ejection likely resulted from a recoil kick after two supermassive black holes merged following their host galaxies' collision, with a three-body interaction as an alternative.
- Using JWST's NIRSpec, the team mapped velocity across the bow shock and detected a 600 kilometers per second jump, inferring the black hole's speed, van Dokkum said.
- Pieter van Dokkum said the finding offers empirical validation that supermassive black holes can escape their host galaxies; the research team posted the study on arXiv and submitted it to The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
- The runaway's wake already triggers star formation, leaving a 200,000 light-year trail with stars of about 100 million solar masses, and upcoming Roman Space Telescope and Euclid will enable wider searches.
11 Articles
11 Articles
James Webb telescope confirms a supermassive black hole running away from its host galaxy at 2 million mph, researchers say
JWST peered at the glowing trail of stars left behind by a candidate runaway supermassive black hole deep in space, revealing new insights after other telescopes looked at the event.
Black holes are among the most powerful objects in the universe. One was hurled out of its galaxy.
JWST Confirms: First Runaway Supermassive Black Hole Tearing Through Space
Every now and again, a stellar object is caught zooming across space like a white rabbit, extremely late for a very important date. Now, for the first time, astronomers have confirmed a supermassive black hole at least 10 million times the mass of the Sun, somehow yeeted from its host galaxy at a jaw-dropping 954 kilometers (593 miles) per second – that's 0.32 percent of the speed of light. It's not the fastest runaway stellar object ever observ…
James Webb Space Telescope confirms 1st 'runaway' supermassive black hole rocketing through 'Cosmic Owl' galaxies at 2.2 million mph: 'It boggles the mind!'
Astronomers have used the James Webb Space Telescope to confirm the first runaway supermassive black hole, one of the fastest bodies ever seen, pushing a galaxy-worth of material ahead of it and forming stars in its wake.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
