Recent discovery, shows that black holes can make
stars just as well as they can eat them.
Astronomers came to this conclusion after watching a
black hole 30 million light-years away make stars in a small galaxy called
Henize 2-10.
Experts say that this discovery, which was made
possible by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, is the first strong evidence that
black holes cause stars to form in very small galaxies. This raises the
question of what black holes are for.
Amy Reines, who wrote most of the new research
explained, black holes in larger
galaxies are known to eat up dust and the remains of stars that get too close
to them. They also burn up gas clouds with their strong gravitational pull,
creating the amazing sights we’ve all seen from black holes that are bigger and
stronger.
But black holes in dwarf galaxies are much less
bright and quiet. Instead of tearing up nearby galactic matter, it might
squeeze gas and help stars form.
“Henize 2-10 is only 30 million light-years away,
which is close enough for Hubble to get clear images and spectroscopic evidence
of a black hole outflow,” said Zachary Schutte, the lead author of the new
study and a graduate student working with Reines. “Another surprise was that
the outflow wasn’t stopping stars from being made; instead, it was causing them
to be made.”
The new research may help us understand how
supermassive black holes are made and how other black holes looked when they
were younger and just starting out.
In a statement, Reines said:
“We haven’t been able to see the time when the first
black holes formed, so the big question is: where did they come from? Dwarf
galaxies may have some memory of the black hole seeding scenario, which has
otherwise been lost to time and space.
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