Supermassive black holes situated at the center of galaxies blast out ultra-fast winds and radiation.
New data from NASA and the European Space Agency shows that the winds blow in an almost spherical manner and go out in all direction, ruling out the idea that they blow in a narrow beam.
The data came from NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) XMM-Newton telescopes.
With the shape and reach of the winds known, researchers were then able to work out the winds’ strength. The latter being strong enough to shut off star formation in the galaxy.
The artist’s concept of what the winds might be like is based on Hubble’s image of the Pinwheel galaxy (Messier 101).