Black Holes: Story of Chandra's X-Ray Jets

2002/10/04 Carton Virto, Eider - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Astronomia

These jets emitted by black holes travel for a few years at the speed of light until they slow down and disappear. Paris VII. The research has been directed by Stephane Corbel of the University and has been published in the journal Science.

Researchers have studied a black hole of our galaxy in the XTE J1550-564 system. In 1998 the Chandra Observatory detected two X-ray jets that left in opposite directions and have since continued. The jets moved half the speed of light and are about to disappear four years later. In this period more than three years of light have gone away.

Black holes often release such jets and astronomers are very curious about these processes. Black holes remain a great mystery. This is the first time that the jets have followed from birth to death, and because of their proximity they have been able to see how the phenomenon evolves in a few years. In the distant supermassive black holes, the same would take thousands of years.