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Black holes are one of the most extreme objects in the universe. It can propel matter outward at near-light speeds in powerful plasma beams known as jets. These jets are thought to be one of the most energetic phenomena in the universe.<\/p>\n
Our new work was published today natural astronomy<\/em>challenges this intuition. It turns out that something as seemingly ordinary as “wind” from a star can rival and even shape the behavior of these powerful jets.<\/p>\n The Cygnus X-1 system is like a cosmic waltz between a black hole and a massive star.<\/p>\n A black hole was discovered for the first time in history. It has about 21 times the mass of the Sun and is compressed into an area about 100 kilometers in diameter.<\/p>\n It is what is known as a binary star system with a much larger companion star, almost 40 times the mass of the Sun. Black holes and stars orbit each other every 5.6 days.<\/p>\n For about 20,000 years, the black hole has been feeding on material from the star. This is done by using the star’s strong gravity to capture the star’s powerful stellar wind.<\/p>\n Some of this matter disappears into the black hole, traveling one way across the point of no return (known as the event horizon). A swirling magnetic field is drawn in with the gas, leading to the firing of a jet that moves at nearly the speed of light.<\/p>\n The jet carries energy from near the black hole to a distance of 1 trillion times that amount, or 16 light years away.<\/p>\n Their activity over the past 20,000 years has expanded a giant bubble of hot gas into the surrounding interstellar space. However, despite their importance, measuring the instantaneous power of these jets has remained a major challenge until now.<\/p>\nspace waltz<\/h2>\n