Monster Black Hole ‘Reborn’: Cosmic Volcano Eruption
- Scientists have observed a supermassive black hole waking up from a nearly 100 million-year nap.
- The black hole lies at the center of a gigantic galaxy that's emitting extremely strong radio waves.
- "It's like watching a cosmic volcano erupt again after ages of calm - except this one is big enough to carve out structures stretching nearly a million light-years...
Scientists have observed a supermassive black hole waking up from a nearly 100 million-year nap.
The black hole lies at the center of a gigantic galaxy that’s emitting extremely strong radio waves. A new analysis of these radio emissions reveals the black hole once spewed gargantuan jets of plasma hundreds of thousands of light-years into space, before suddenly shutting off sometime in the distant past. Those jets are now active once again, and they are interacting in complex and chaotic ways with the superheated gas around them, according to the new study.
“It’s like watching a cosmic volcano erupt again after ages of calm – except this one is big enough to carve out structures stretching nearly a million light-years across space,” study co-author Shobha Kumari, an astronomer at Midnapore City College in India, said in a statement.
Galactic engine trouble
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Only 10% to 20% of supermassive black holes have jets that emit radio signals. In these galaxies,a spinning disk of dust and plasma swirls around the black hole,regularly feeding it large amou
J1007+3540: A Unique Galaxy with Intermittent Active Galactic Nucleus Activity
The galaxy J1007+3540 exhibits a rare phenomenon: its active galactic nucleus (AGN) turns on and off periodically. This behavior allows researchers to study the dynamics of AGNs and thier interaction with the surrounding surroundings.The observations were discussed in a statement featuring Surajit Pal, a physicist at the Manipal Centre for Natural Sciences.
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) and Their variability
An Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits enormous amounts of energy.This energy is powered by a supermassive black hole accreting matter. AGNs are known to vary in brightness, but J1007+3540’s variability is especially striking, with its AGN switching on and off over a period of years.
According to a study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters in 2023, J1007+3540’s AGN was “off” for at least 200 days, a period unprecedented for such a luminous AGN. Source: IOP Science
The Manipal Centre for Natural Sciences and Research
The Manipal Centre for Natural Sciences (MCNS) is a research center within Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) in India. It focuses on interdisciplinary research in physics, astronomy, and related fields. The center contributes to understanding essential aspects of the universe through observational and theoretical studies.
MAHE is a deemed university recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India. Source: University Grants Commission (UGC)
Future Research on J1007+3540
Researchers plan to conduct high-resolution observations of J1007+3540 to map how the jets emitted by the AGN propagate through the intracluster medium – the hot,diffuse gas that fills galaxy clusters. These observations will help determine the frequency of AGN on/off cycles and the interaction between old jets and their surroundings.
The team intends to use facilities like the Very Large Array (VLA) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) for these future observations. Source: National Radio Astronomy Observatory (VLA), Source: Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)