Tour: NASA's Chandra Sees Black Hole Jet Stumble Into Something in the Dark

Even matter ejected by black holes can run into things in the dark. Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have found an unusual mark from a giant black hole’s powerful jet striking an unidentified object in its path.

The discovery was made in a galaxy called Centaurus A, or Cen A for short, which is located 12.4 million light-years from Earth.

Astronomers have long studied Cen A because it has a supermassive black hole in its center sending out spectacular jets that stretch out across the entire galaxy.

In this latest study, researchers determined that the jet is — at least in certain spots — moving at close to the speed of light. Using the deepest X-ray image ever made of Cen A, they also found a patch of V-shaped emission connected to a bright source of X-rays, something that had not been seen before in this galaxy.

Called C4, this source is located close to the path of the jet from the supermassive black hole and is highlighted in the inset. The arms of the “V” are at least about 700 light-years long. For context, the nearest star to Earth is about 4 light-years away.

While the researchers have ideas about what is happening, the identity of the object being blasted is a mystery because it is too distant for details of it to be seen, even in images from the current most powerful telescopes. The incognito object being rammed may be a massive star, either by itself or with a companion star.