Scientists have watched the black hole’s aftermath in real time

After a study, astronomers concluded that they witnessed live the sudden awakening of the supermassive black hole located at its heart.

“Imagine you were watching one A galaxy far away For years he always seemed quiet and inactive. Suddenly its core begins to exhibit dramatic changes in brightness unlike any typical events we’ve seen in the past,” he describes the black hole’s awakening. paola sanchez saez, Astronomer in European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Germany and the lead author of the study published in the journalAstronomy and astrophysics“.

Astronomers used data from various sources Space and ground telescopes To track how the brightness of an existing galaxy changes 300 million light-years away, In the constellation Virgo.

As pointed out, some phenomena, e.g Supernova explosions, can cause galaxies to suddenly brighten, but these brightness changes usually last only a few (tens or hundreds) of days. This particular galaxy continues to grow brighter to this day, more than four years after this brightness was first observed. In addition, the changes detected in the galaxy are unlike any other changes observed in the past.

By comparing data taken before and after December 2019, the researchers found that A specific galaxy It is now emitting more light in the ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths, and in February 2024 it also began emitting X-rays.

“Sleeping” black hole

the black holes“These giant monsters usually sleep and cannot be seen immediately. In the case of the galaxy SDSS1335+0728, we were able to spot them.” The aftermath of a supermassive black hole. “It suddenly started feeding on the gas available in its environment, which made it very bright,” explains Claudio Ricci of the University of Diego Portales, one of the authors of the study.

Previous studies reported that dormant galaxies become active after several years, but scientists point out that this is the first time that the process itself, i.e. the aftermath of a black hole, has been observed in real time.

However, they determined that follow-up observations were needed to rule out alternative explanations. Another possibility is that we are witnessing a tidal disturbance event, where a star passes so close to the black hole that it is pulled away by the black hole’s tidal force. They also do not rule out the possibility of a new phenomenon.