What would happen if the Milky Way's black hole erupted? This distant galaxy paints a terrifying picture
A cosmic anomaly detected in a distant galaxy could portend a terrifying future for life in the Milky Way. The discovery suggests that our models of galactic evolution could be inaccurate.
Astronomers have detected an erupting supermassive black hole producing some of the largest jets ever seen bursting from a galaxy with the same shape as our own. The galaxy in question also possesses vastly more dark matter than the Milky Way, hinting at a connection between active black holes and the abundance of the universe's most mysterious "stuff."
The jets erupting from the massive spiral galaxy 2MASX J23453268−0449256 (J2345-0449), which is three times the size of the Milky Way and is located 947 million light-years away, are themselves 6 million light-years long. And if the supermassive black hole in J2345-0449, which has an estimated mass equivalent to 1.4 billion suns, can erupt so violently, could our galaxy's supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) also blow its top? And if so, what would this mean for life in the Milky Way?
While larger jets have been observed in the past (most notably the jet named "Porphyrion," which stretches for 23 million light-years), such monstrous emissions have mainly been associated with elliptical galaxies, not with spiral galaxies.
"This discovery is more than just an oddity – it forces us to rethink how galaxies evolve and how supermassive black holes grow in them and shape their environments," team leader Joydeep Bagchi of CHRIST University, Bangalore, said in a statement. "If a spiral galaxy can not only survive but thrive under such extreme conditions, what does this mean for the future of galaxies like our own Milky Way?
"Could our galaxy one day experience similar high-energy phenomena that will have serious consequences for the survival of precious life in it?"
The team detected this remarkable radio jet outburst using the Hubble Space Telescope, the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
Previously, scientists had thought that such a violent and titanic jet erupting from the supermassive black hole at the heart of a spiral galaxy would destroy the structure of that galaxy, particularly the distinctive spiral arms that give these galaxies their names.
However, J2345-0449 appears to be tranquil, and it has managed to retain its morphology, including its spiral arms, its bright churning "nuclear bar" of stars, and a stellar ring — despite possessing one of the most violent supermassive black holes ever seen in a spiral galaxy.
As if this wasn't odd enough, this distant galaxy is surrounded by a huge halo of gas. In many galaxies, this material would be cooling and condensing to produce new stars. However, in J2345-0449, the central black hole is acting as a cosmic furnace, heating this halo of gas, producing X-ray emissions, and preventing it from creating new stars.
Cosmic rays, gamma rays, and X-rays, all associated with the massive jets emerging from the black hole at the heart of this galaxy, threaten any life that may have emerged in J2345-0449.
As mentioned above, there are some major differences between J2345-0449 and the Milky Way, including the fact our galaxy is a third of the size of its distant cousin. The black holes at the hearts of both galaxies are also different, or as different as supermassive black holes get anyway. While the supermassive black hole in J2345-0449 is estimated to be between 250 million and 1.4 billion solar masses (there is a big uncertainty because J2345-0449 lacks a central bulge, making the mass of its black hole hard to measure), Sgr A* is much more diminutive with a mass of around 4.3 million suns.
The black hole of J2345-0449 is so turbulent because it greedily feasts on abundant gas and dust swirling around it in a flattened cloud called an accretion disk. Material that the black hole doesn't devour is channeled to the poles of this cosmic titan, from where it is blasted out at near-light speeds as these extraordinary twin jets.
Sgr A* doesn't currently have such powerful jets (there is debate about whether it has any jets at all) because it isn't feeding on much material. In fact, if our central supermassive black hole were a human, it would be as if it sustained itself on a grain of rice every one million years.
However, this situation could change on very short notice if Sgr A* were to snag itself a large gas cloud or a star and begin devouring it. Such an occurrence is called a tidal disruption event (TDE), and while we've seen many such events in other galaxies, we've never seen one from Sgr A*.
Were Sgr A* to rip apart a star in a TDE, the material from the star would fall around our black hole, forming an accretion disk. And that would result in the production of astrophysical jets.
The impact of such jets would depend on their orientation, their strength, and the amount of energy they pump out. If a jet from Sgr A*, which is around 27,000 light-years away, was pointed directly at the solar system, it would be capable of stripping away planetary atmospheres and damaging the DNA of life here on Earth. The radiation associated with these jets could increase mutation rates. If Earth were to take a direct hit from such a jet, the high-energy particles within it could degrade our ozone layer and lead to a mass extinction.
Even if such a jet isn't angled toward Earth, it could still have disastrous implications for the Milky Way on a larger scale. Were a jet to slam into the interstellar medium, the gas and dust between the stars in our galaxy, it could heat them and curtail star formation, just as it has done in J2345-0449.
This would not be unprecedented in the Milky Way, which scientists believe was once ravaged by vast radio jets. However, predicting if and when such jets could erupt from Sgr A* again isn't as easy as spotting evidence of its historical activity.There is another enigma surrounding J2345-0449 that astronomers will be keen to investigate.
During their study of J2345-0449, the team also found that this galaxy, three times the size of the Milky Way, appears to contain ten times the dark matter that our galaxy does.
Dark matter is effectively invisible because, unlike the ordinary matter that composes stars, planets, moons, our bodies, and everything we see around us, it doesn't interact with light.
Dark matter does interact with gravity, though, and this is important for J2345-0449. This distant, massive galaxy is spinning so rapidly that it takes a vast amount of dark matter to maintain its structure and prevent it from flying apart.
This is the first time that astronomers have drawn the connection between the dark matter content of a galaxy, that galaxy's structure, and the activity of its central supermassive black hole.
The team thinks that further establishing this connection could open up an entirely new frontier of scientific study.
Related Stories:
— Is our universe trapped inside a black hole? This James Webb Space Telescope discovery might blow your mind
— Weird physics at the edges of black holes may help resolve lingering 'Hubble trouble'
— Black holes may obey the laws of physics after all, new theory suggests
"Understanding these rare galaxies could provide vital clues about the unseen forces governing the universe – including the nature of dark matter, the long-term fate of galaxies, and the origin of life," team member Shankar Ray, also from CHRIST University, Bangalore, said. "Ultimately, this study brings us one step closer to unraveling the mysteries of the cosmos, reminding us that the universe still holds surprises beyond our imagination."
The team's research was published on Thursday (March 20) in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
New study says the 'one-set rule' could help you build more muscle in the gym (while doing less) — here's how
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. If you're anything like me, gym motivation comes and goes, and sometimes, no matter what conversation you have with yourself, it just isn't happening. Well, I might have found a fix. From now on, whenever you're debating whether or not to do that workout or lift those barbells or dumbbells, think this: just one set. That's it, just one set. New research published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise has made a fascinating discovery, and it's that a single-set routine could save time and still build muscle, even when transitioning from higher-volume workouts. Here's everything you need to know about the 'one-set rule,' and why it works, according to researchers. What is the study? Researchers took 42 young men and women who were already resistance-trained, and assigned them to one of two groups: the first group trained to failure on all exercises, while the other worked at a submaximal effort, meaning they had roughly two reps 'in reserve' for the same exercises. All participants performed one set of nine different exercises focusing on all major muscle groups each session. They did this twice per week for eight weeks. Researchers then measured muscle thickness in the biceps and triceps brachii and quadriceps, and looked at muscular strength, power and endurance markers. What are the results? The results showed that both groups benefitted from 'appreciable gains in most of the assessed outcomes," and several measures of hypertrophy (muscle growth) favored the all-out effort group. However, increases in strength and local muscular endurance were similar between groups. The next time you head to the gym, you could perform just one set of each exercise twice per week and still benefit. The study concluded that single-set routines can be time-efficient and still promote modest muscular adaptations, although this was an assessment on trained individuals only. That said, even if participants had transitioned from higher-volume programs, it was still effective. What does it all mean? Training toward failure and prioritizing intensity rather than volume (high sets or reps) is where muscle adaptations can occur. Even just one set per exercise can help you build muscle and power, so long as you work with intensity close to failure. However, results didn't show the same for strength or local muscle endurance in this case. The next time you head to the gym, you could perform just one set of each exercise twice per week and still benefit. Training to failure in this case favored slightly better muscle growth, but both groups still benefited significantly overall, and strength outcomes were similar. Remember, the experiment targeted the whole body and main muscle groups, but by keeping it minimal, sessions were still short and time-efficient. Just think of intensity and ensure you're lifting toward failure rather than keeping reps in reserve. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. More from Tom's Guide Forget running and swimming — study finds this sport adds 10 years to your life New study reveals cycling can reduce dementia risk by 88% Work out less and get better results — a new study says this is exactly how
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
This comet is traveling 100x faster than a bullet. NASA still managed to photograph it
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The fastest-moving objects are often the most challenging subjects to photograph – which means NASA scientists had a challenge ahead of them when the ATLAS comet warning system flagged the fastest solar system visitor yet. The Hubble Space Telescope has managed to capture the sharpest ever photograph of the comet known as 3I/ATLAS as it travels at 130,000 miles per hour / 209,215 kph. The 3I/ATLAS, which was first spotted on July 1, has the fastest velocity of any solar system visitor to date, NASA says. The comet's 130,000 mph speed is nearly 100 times the speed of some bullets. The comet's speed suggests that 3I/ATLAS may have originated from a very distant, developing planetary system, which means the comet could be a space fossil with clues about the universe's history. The challenge, of course, was how to photograph something moving 100 times the speed of some bullets and still get a sharp enough photograph that scientists could infer some data from the image. NASA put the Hubble Space Telescope up to the task, using the orbiting telescope's onboard WFC3 charge-coupled camera. The researchers used a single gyroscope to allow the camera to follow the movement of the comet, creating a sharper, more detailed image. The stars in the background of the image are streaked because the camera was moving in order to follow the quick-moving comet, much like the panning technique blurs the background of photos taken following fast action on Earth. The resulting photograph is giving researchers a wealth of different information about the speedy solar system visitor. Researchers now estimate that the comet's nucleus is between 1,000 feet (320 m) and 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) in diameter. The photograph also shows the dust ejecting from the comet on the side that the sun is heating up. The comet's rate of dust loss indicates the comet may have originated 300 million miles from the sun, researchers estimate. 'No one knows where the comet came from,' said David Jewitt, the science team leader for the Hubble observations. 'It's like glimpsing a rifle bullet for a thousandth of a second. You can't project that back with any accuracy to figure out where it started on its path.' The 3I/ATLAS comet was first discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) at the beginning of July 2025. While the comet isn't Earth-bound, its speed indicates the comet could be billions of years old. Researchers will continue to study the comet until it passes too close to the sun to observe sometime in September, though it's expected to be visible again on the other side of the sun around December. You may also like Take a look at the best cameras for astrophotography or the best lenses for astrophotography. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
10 bizarre 'dark voids' appear in the skies over uninhabited island near Antarctica — Earth from space
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. QUICK FACTS Where is it? Heard Island, Indian Ocean [-53.116414344, 73.51793263] What's in the photo? An unusual stream of von Kármán vortices trailing off a hidden peak Which satellite took the photo? Landsat 8 When was it taken? May 3, 2016 This striking satellite photo shows 10 swirling "dark voids" that appeared above an uninhabited volcanic island in the Indian Ocean. The black spots are the result of atmospheric cloud vortices, but are oddly pronounced and significantly contorted compared to most other examples of this phenomenon. The spinning voids are trailing off Heard Island — an uninhabited Australian territory in the southern Indian Ocean, around 900 miles (1,500 kilometers) north of Antarctica. The cloud-obscured landmass has a surface area of around 142 square miles (368 square kilometers). On average, the dark spots are around 8 miles (13 km) wide, decreasing slightly in size the further they have traveled, according to NASA's Earth Observatory. They are initially moving away from the island in a northeasterly direction (left to right). The spinning holes are the result of a phenomenon known as von Kármán vortices, which occur when a prevailing wind encounters a landmass, disturbing the airflow and creating "a double row of vortices which alternate their direction of rotation," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They are named for Theodore von Kármán, a Hungarian-American physicist, who was the first to describe this natural phenomenon. In this case, the vortices are being created by Mawson Peak, a 9,000-foot-tall (2,700 meters) active volcano sat at the heart of Heard Island. Related: See all the best images of Earth from space Normally, von Kármán vortices create long trails of swirling clouds that get caught up in the disrupted air flows. The cloud streams are normally perfectly straight, such as a series of parallel vortex streams that emerged side-by-side off the Atlantic coast of Africa in 2015 (see above). But in this case, the vortex stream appears to bend almost 90 degrees midway through the stream. This change in direction was most likely caused by a sporadic burst of the intense westerly winds that frequently blow across the area around Heard Island at speeds over 50 mph (80km/h), known as the "Furious Fifties," according to the Earth Observatory. In most examples of von Kármán vortices, the resulting cloud trails can be quite wispy, tracing out the subtle variations in the invisible air currents, such as examples observed over Mexico's Guadalupe Island in 2012 and above Svalbard's Bear Island in 2023. MORE EARTH FROM SPACE —Gravity waves spark pair of perfect cloud ripples above uninhabited islands —Mysterious, slow-spinning cloud 'cyclone' hugs the Iberian coast —Giant, near-perfect cloud ring appears in the middle of the Pacific Ocean However, in this photo, the wispy trails are replaced by a string of concentrated holes, or gaps, within the clouds. This is probably due to exceptionally thick cloud coverage, which can be disrupted only at the heart of each spinning section within the vortex stream. Mawson Peak is smaller than most of the peaks that regularly produce von Kármán vortices, making it slightly rarer for the cloud swirls to emerge there. However, Heard Island has produced more traditional vortex streams in the past, such as one showing in November 2015. Solve the daily Crossword
