A recent study led by an astronomer from the University of Cambridge reveals the first evidence of star formation in massive black holes. Previously, experts believe that stars and other celestial bodies could not survive in such an extreme environment. Well, they were wrong.
This remarkable discovery will open new doors to understanding the galactic properties of the universe as well as its evolution. UK-led astronomers utilized the MUSE and X-shooter instruments on a Very Large Telescope (VLT) located at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile. The chosen area was a collision between IRAS F23128-5919 galaxies, which is about 600 million light-years from Earth.
Researchers found out that a massive outflow from the colossal black hole sparks off the birth of stars. Science Daily, based on the ESO report, said that such celestial winds are driven by the intense energy coming from active and turbulent centers of galaxies. Galactic holes often lurk in the core of these systems that when they start sucking up matter, they also heat up the surrounding gas and burst it in powerful, dense winds.
While some astronomers already thought of this scenario, no one has actually seen it happening. For one thing, the universe is black and the holes are black as well. Roberto Maiolino from the University of Cambridge, the leader of the study, said that the results were very exciting because they were unambiguous.
According to Forbes, the stellar population was still in the infancy stage. These suns are believed to be less than a few tens of millions of years old. Moreover, they preliminary analysis suggest that they are hotter and brighter than stars formed in less extreme environments like galactic discs. Lastly, the stars are also moving away from the galaxy center at very large speeds.
The radiation from young stars makes nearby clouds glow in a particular way. The extreme sensitivity of the X-shooter then allowed the team of UK astronomers to rule out other possible causes of the illumination like gas shocks and the active nucleus of the galaxy. A member of the team came from the Institute of Astronomy, also in Cambridge.
