An artist's conception of a black hole emitting a relativistic jet. (Credit: G. Pérez Díaz (IAC)) The mysteries surrounding black holes make for some fascinating research. Whether consuming dead stars or anchoring baby galaxies, black holes are one of the most perplexing astronomical phenomena. Especially when they shoot out jets of supercharged plasma akin to Star Wars’ world-destroying Death Star superlaser. These streams of plasma are known as relativistic jets, and they form when a ravenous black hole siphons off and consumes matter from the star. Some of the stellar material gets ejected as powerful beams of ionized plasma along the black holes’ axis of rotation. They aren’t exclusive to black holes — neutron stars and pulsars can also create the jets of ionized energy. Supermassive black holes, though, make the strongest jets, but the method of the energy beams’ formation is still unclear.
In new research published in Nature ...
