Black holes captured acting like a Death Star’s weapon, point jets at new targets

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatoryalongwith the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)'s National Radio Astronomical Observatory's (NRAO) Very Long BaselineArrayspotted gargantuan black holes firingstrongbeams of supercharged particles which were slowlychanging direction over millions ofyears.

The supermassive black holeswere seenspinning in different directions and shooting these particle jets in deep space.

In a statement, Astrophysicist Francesco Ubertosi said,"We found that about a third of the beams are now pointing in completely different directions than before. These Death Star black holes are swivelling around and pointing at new targets, like the fictional space station inStar Wars."

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As per a new paper published in The Astrophysical Journal, these cosmic jetswhichwere releasedfrom every black hole in two opposite-facingstreamscreated cavities in clouds of gas.

Supermassive black holesare a type of colossal black holeswhich arepresent at the centres of many galaxies,which includeour own Milky Way.

As per the paper, scientists can understand the direction of the jetswhichwerereleasedfrom 16 supermassive black holes by investigating pairs of bubbles present in clouds of gas in space. The force of thepowerful particle beams may have createdsuch cavities in gas.

Scientists remain puzzled about the change in the direction ofjets

It was found by the researchers that many of the blackholes,whichwerestudied,changed the direction in which their jets were released by around 90 degrees.

In a statement, study co-author and researcher at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CFA) Gerrit Schellenberger said, "Considering that these black holes are likely more than 10 billion years old, we consider a large change in direction over a few million years to be fast. Changing the direction of the giant black hole beams in about a million years is analogous to changing the direction of a new battleship in a few minutes."

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The researchers have failed to figure out how the black holesare turningtheir beams in different directions, asthey were earlier believedto align with the axis. It is around this axis that the black holes continue to rotate.

As per the scientists, if the material falls into the black holeat an anglewhichis not parallel to itsdiskit may change the directionthatisfacedby this rotational axis.

In the statement, co-author and a researcher at CFA Jan Vrtilek said, "It's possible that material rapidly falling towards the black holes at a different angle for long enough would drag their rotation axes in a different direction, causing the beams to point in a different direction."

(With inputs from agencies)