They discover a black hole that is producing stars, rather than devouring them – Enseñame de Ciencia

Our understanding of the events taking place in the universe around us goes hand in hand with advances in research and scientific evidence. For a long time, humanity has viewed black holes (those astronomical objects with such intense gravity that no light can escape) as objects devouring stellar matter.

However, a recent study by scientists from the Department of Physics at Montana State University appears to have dealt a blow to the popular claim that black holes only suck in stuff.

In the study published in the journal natureUsing observations made by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, scientists have found, in the heart of the dwarf galaxy Henize 2-10, a black hole very different from the rest we know: it’s a starbuilder.

Often portrayed as destructive, light-trapping monsters, black holes take on a less sinister role in the latest Hubble Space Telescope research. A black hole at the heart of the dwarf galaxy Henize 2-10 is creating stars rather than swallowing them. a permit.

The black hole appears to be contributing to a new star formation explosion occurring in the galaxy. The dwarf galaxy lies 30 million light-years away, in the southern constellation Pyxis.

At first, the study authors doubted whether what they were really observing was a black hole, but more detailed observations were able to verify the existence of the astronomical object in question. “Hubble’s amazing resolution clearly shows a corkscrew-like pattern in gas velocities, which we can tune to model an outflow or oscillation from a black hole. The supernova remnant wouldn’t have this pattern, so it’s a clue,” explains Dr. Amy Raines of Montana State University and lead author of the study. It cannot be refuted as a black hole.

Moreover, this black hole was closely related to the neighboring star-forming region in the dwarf galaxy. “I knew from the start that something unusual and special was happening at Henize 2-10, and now Hubble has provided a very clear picture of the relationship between the black hole and the nearby star-forming region located 230 light-years away from the black hole,” explained Dr. Zachary Schott, co-author. to study.

Research published in natural astronomy.