Massive black hole 'waking up' in Virgo constellation

Astronomers have noticed an unexpected phenomenon in a galaxy 300 million light-years away: the central black hole of the star city “woke up” and began producing enormous quasiperiodic eruptions.

Newly 'awakened' black hole is releasing 100 times more energy than scientists have ever seen before

The quasi-periodic eruptions of X-rays from a black hole 300 million light-years away are unlike any researchers have ever seen before.

Discovery of extreme quasi-periodic eruptions in a newly accreting massive black hole

Quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) are rapid, recurring X-ray bursts from supermassive black holes, believed to result from interactions between accretion disks and surrounding matter. The galaxy SDSS1335+0728, previously stable for two decades, exhibited an increase in optical brightness in December 2019, followed by persistent active galactic nucleus (AGN)-like variability for 5 yr, suggesting the activation of a ~106-M⊙ black hole. Since Februar…

A Long-Dormant Supermassive Black Hole Has Awakened, and It's Doing Something Extreme and Unusual

A supermassive black hole that scientists have nicknamed “Ansky” has awakened after a long dormant period, and is now emitting powerful X-ray flares from across deep space. Most galaxies have a supermassive black hole at their center that is millions of times the mass of the Sun. However, long cycles of feeding and rest leave them in inactive states that make them difficult to spot. Nestled in the Virgo constellation, a galaxy 300 million light …

How Black Holes Can Emit Powerful Jets

We've long known that black holes can produce powerful jets of ionized gas. These jets stream away from the black hole at nearly the speed of light. Jets produced by supermassive black holes are so powerful they are seen as quasars from billions of light-years away. But when you think about it, jets are a bit counterintuitive. Black holes trap and consume material through their tremendous gravity, so how can they push streams of material away? A…

Sleeping Black Hole Erupts in Real Time – Blasting Out Record-Breaking X-Rays

A mysterious black hole in a distant galaxy just woke up after decades of silence—and it’s putting on a cosmic light show! ESA’s XMM-Newton and other X-ray telescopes are capturing massive bursts of energy known as quasiperiodic eruptions (QPEs) that defy current theories. Unlike anything seen before, these powerful flashes may be rewriting the rulebook [...]