{"id":997,"date":"2026-04-21T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=997"},"modified":"2026-04-21T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T18:00:00","slug":"the-dancing-jet-ejected-from-a-cannibalistic-black-hole-has-the-power-of-10000-suns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=997","title":{"rendered":"The &#8216;dancing&#8217; jet ejected from a cannibalistic black hole has the power of 10,000 suns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-0fc5c09a-cc00-4469-9ab1-d2f547a99ade\">Astronomers observed jets ejected from a black hole cannibalizing a blue supergiant&#8217;s companion star. Using data from the Square Kilometer Array Observatory (SKA) radio telescope, the research team was able to measure the power of these explosions, which turned out to be as powerful as the output of 10,000 suns. This could help reveal how the explosion is shaping the entire surrounding galaxy.<\/p>\n<p>The system studied by the team is known as <u>Cygnus X-1<\/u> (Cyg X-1) is located 7,000 light years away and is one of the brightest light sources. <u>x-ray<\/u> Up in the sky. Cyg X-1 is thought to be composed of stellar mass <u>black hole<\/u> It is estimated to have about 21 times the mass of the Sun, and the Sun gets its nutrition from a blue supergiant star.<\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-0fc5c09a-cc00-4469-9ab1-d2f547a99ade-2\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">The black hole and its donor star are only 30 million miles (48 million kilometers) apart, which is about 20% of Earth&#8217;s distance. <u>distance between earth and sun<\/u> (0.2 astronomical unit).<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pb-0 pt-2 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 !text-base uppercase sm:text-sm font-bold&#10;        \"><\/p>\n<p>            you may like<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p id=\"elk-a0ae23a1-6adc-4cb2-9e76-74d6b16ab4f1\">The blue supergiant feeds material to the Cyg X-1 black hole via powerful electrical power. <u>star wind<\/u> It blows from there. However, because this material has angular momentum, or spin, it cannot fall directly into a black hole. Instead, it forms a flat, swirling cloud called an accretion disk, which gradually feeds the black hole.<\/p>\n<p>The black hole&#8217;s massive gravity heats the accretion disk, causing the intense X-ray emission associated with Cyg X-1.<\/p>\n<p>However, not all of this matter makes it to the black hole. Some of it is sent to the black hole&#8217;s poles, where it is spewed out in powerful jets. In addition to being able to measure the power output of these jets, astronomers also found that the jets travel at approximately 336 million miles per hour (150,000 km\/s). <u>speed of light<\/u>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"elk-c4b010b6-4250-4897-8846-a35b7f296655\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:299px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:201.67%;\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">As the black hole and star move around their orbit, the radio jet changes direction (shown in red) <\/span><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICAR))<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"elk-8f4f7ee3-8450-42f8-a8c7-992d855ebf9f\">Team leader Steve Prabh, from the University of Oxford, described the jet&#8217;s movement in the series of SKA images as &#8220;dancing.&#8221; This referred to the fact that the Cyg X-1 jet appeared to be deflected in different directions as the star and black hole orbited each other. Prabhu and his colleagues determined that stellar winds blowing from the star push the black hole jets, giving them the power to &#8220;dance.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-RzGAeW9qvagVszv4hwBzGK\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-RzGAeW9qvagVszv4hwBzGK slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Breaking the latest in space news, rocket launches, skywatching events, and more.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>This discovery allows scientists to better understand how much energy black hole jets release into the environment.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The key to this study is that about 10% of the energy released when matter falls toward a black hole is carried away by the jet,&#8221; Prabhu said. &#8220;This is something scientists typically assume in large-scale simulation models of the universe, but until now it has been difficult to confirm with observations.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"elk-2e1eb66e-4c00-4a50-bd2d-fca3cba6b2ef\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:1600px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/sErEtUR8BxuD56P4YeTvMQ-1200-80.png.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/sErEtUR8BxuD56P4YeTvMQ-1024-80.png.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/sErEtUR8BxuD56P4YeTvMQ-970-80.png.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/sErEtUR8BxuD56P4YeTvMQ-650-80.png.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/sErEtUR8BxuD56P4YeTvMQ-480-80.png.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/sErEtUR8BxuD56P4YeTvMQ-320-80.png.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/The-dancing-jet-ejected-from-a-cannibalistic-black-hole-has.png\" alt=\"Illustration of a supermassive black hole in the early universe\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/sErEtUR8BxuD56P4YeTvMQ-1200-80.png 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/sErEtUR8BxuD56P4YeTvMQ-1024-80.png 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/sErEtUR8BxuD56P4YeTvMQ-970-80.png 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/sErEtUR8BxuD56P4YeTvMQ-650-80.png 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/sErEtUR8BxuD56P4YeTvMQ-480-80.png 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/sErEtUR8BxuD56P4YeTvMQ-320-80.png 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/The-dancing-jet-ejected-from-a-cannibalistic-black-hole-has.png\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/The-dancing-jet-ejected-from-a-cannibalistic-black-hole-has.png\" class=\"inline\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Diagram of a supermassive black hole spewing out a powerful jet of matter <\/span><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Robert Lea (created with Canva))<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"elk-406ad483-773d-47b4-8439-865c2c025579\">What&#8217;s even more exciting about this research is that it provides scientists with a way to measure the energy of jets ejected from other black holes, including much larger ones. <u>supermassive black hole<\/u> It is located at the center of all large galaxies and has millions or billions of times the mass of the Sun.<\/p>\n<p>Curtin Institute for Radio Astronomy (CIRA) team member James Miller-Jones said: &#8220;Our theory suggests that the physics around black holes is very similar, so our measurements can be used to solidify our understanding of jets, whether they come from 10 or 10 million times the mass of the Sun.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe following radio telescope projects: <u>square kilometer array observatory<\/u> Currently under construction in Western Australia and South Africa, it is expected to detect jets from black holes in millions of distant galaxies, and the anchor point provided by this new measurement will help calibrate the overall output.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Black hole jets provide an important source of feedback to the surrounding environment and are critical to understanding the evolution of galaxies.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The team&#8217;s research was published in the journal Thursday (April 16). <u>natural astronomy.<\/u> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>#dancing #jet #ejected #cannibalistic #black #hole #power #suns<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Astronomers observed jets ejected from a black hole cannibalizing a blue supergiant&#8217;s companion star. Using data from the Square Kilometer Array Observatory (SKA) radio telescope, the research team was able to measure the power of these explosions, which turned out to be as powerful as the output of 10,000 suns. This could help reveal how &#8230; <a title=\"The &#8216;dancing&#8217; jet ejected from a cannibalistic black hole has the power of 10,000 suns\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=997\" aria-label=\"Read more about The &#8216;dancing&#8217; jet ejected from a cannibalistic black hole has the power of 10,000 suns\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[741,2442,1150,2441,914,842,332,1154],"class_list":["post-997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-black","tag-cannibalistic","tag-dancing","tag-ejected","tag-hole","tag-jet","tag-power","tag-suns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}