Astronomers have for the first time measured the instantaneous power and speed of jets blasting from a black hole, finding the outflow equals the energy of 10,000 suns and travels at half the speed of light.
The jet power measurement comes from 18 years of radio imaging of Cygnus X-1
An international team led by Steve Prabu of the University of Oxford used high-resolution data from a global telescope network to study the black hole-star system located 7,200 light-years away in the Milky Way’s Cygnus constellation. The findings, published in Nature Astronomy, mark the first direct measurement of jet power rather than relying on long-term averages spanning tens of thousands of years.
Researchers calculated jet energy by observing how stellar wind bends the outflow
The team analyzed how the jets — ejected in opposite directions — were deflected by the wind from the black hole’s blue supergiant companion star, combining these observations with computer modeling to derive power and velocity. They found the jets carry away about 10% of the total energy released as matter falls into the black hole.
For more on this story, see Pair-Instability Supernovae & Black Hole Mergers: New Insights.
Cygnus X-1 remains a key laboratory for studying black hole feedback
Discovered in the 1960s, Cygnus X-1 was the first black hole ever identified and continues to provide insights into how black holes influence their surroundings through energetic jets that can drive shocks and turbulence in interstellar space. Prabu said the technique could be applied to other systems to build a broader understanding of jet power across black hole populations.
This follows our earlier report, Black Holes Halt Star Formation in Distant Galaxies | JWST Discovery.
How far away is Cygnus X-1 from Earth?
Cygnus X-1 is located 7,200 light-years away in the Milky Way’s Cygnus constellation, with one light-year equaling nearly 6 trillion miles.
What fraction of the black hole’s released energy is carried by the jets?
The jets carry away approximately 10% of the total energy released as matter falls toward the black hole in the Cygnus X-1 system.
