Galaxy-size jet from monster black hole blasts mystery object in deep space (video)

[Admin]

Using NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope, astronomers witnessed a massive black hole jet slam into an unknown object in space.

Galaxy-size jet from monster black hole blasts mystery object in deep space (video) : Read more

 

[Torbjorn Larsson]

This collision stands distinct from those events because while they have produced elliptical "blobs" in X-ray images, this event created a v-shaped structure.

The team will now attempt to determine why this particular collision has produced a strange shape.

My bold:

The incognito object being rammed may be a massive star, either by itself or with a companion star. The X-rays from C4 could be caused by the collision between the particles in the jet and the gas in a wind blowing away from the star. This collision can generate turbulence, causing a rise in the density of the gas in the jet. This, in turn, ignites the X-ray emission seen with Chandra.

The shape of the “V,” however, is not completely understood. The stream of X-rays trailing behind the source in the bottom arm of the “V” is roughly parallel to the jet, matching the picture of turbulence causing enhanced X-ray emission behind an obstacle in the path of the jet. The other arm of the “V” is harder to explain because it has a large angle to the jet, and astronomers are unsure what could explain that.

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/black-hole-jet-stumbles-into-something-in-the-dark/