A team of researchers has discovered that winds from supermassive black holes are 100 times more powerful than previously thought, extending across distances of up to 300,000 light-years. The study, published in a peer-reviewed journal, used data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile to observe the black hole at the center of a distant galaxy.
The winds, driven by the black hole's accretion disk, carry enough energy to significantly impact star formation in their host galaxy. According to the lead author, these outflows can heat and expel gas, regulating the growth of the galaxy itself. The findings challenge existing models of galaxy evolution.
The research team emphasized that the wind's reach—spanning three times the diameter of the Milky Way—was unexpected. This discovery provides new insights into how supermassive black holes influence their cosmic environments on vast scales.
