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Astronomical observations of supermassive black holes

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2026-08-22 22:53 UTC → 2026-08-27 13:56 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Astronomers have identified significant activity involving supermassive black holes through various observations. In galaxy J0148-4214, researchers identified three active supermassive black holes for the first time, which are accumulating matter through accretion disks. Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team led by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics observed this system as it existed approximately 1.2 billion years after the Big Bang. The discovery revealed two black holes near the galaxy center, separated by roughly 620 light-years, and a third located approximately 5,500 light-years away in the outskirts. In a separate finding, studies of the quasar H1821+643 using the XRISM X-ray satellite revealed that its supermassive black hole emits energy across a distance three times the diameter of the Milky Way. Researchers determined these emissions are approximately 100 times greater than previous estimates, comparable to the energy of several billion supernovae. A study led by Satoshi Yamada of Tohoku University, published in Nature Astronomy, utilized the chemical signatures of ionized iron atoms to determine the velocity and turbulence of surrounding hot gas. Regarding the Milky Way, observations from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope have identified S301, the fastest known star in the galaxy. Orbiting the central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, S301 reaches speeds of approximately 25,000 kilometers per second, or about 8% of the speed of light. This velocity is roughly “100,000 times faster than a commercial jet.” Detected using the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) and the GRAVITY+ instrument in Chile, the star follows a highly eccentric 8.7-year orbit that brings it within about 12 astronomical units of the black hole. Scientists believe S301 may have originated from a binary star system torn apart by the black hole's gravity. This extreme orbit provides a unique opportunity to test Einstein’s theory of general relativity and potentially measure the spin of Sagittarius A* by observing how its rotation affects surrounding spacetime.

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