Dr. Martijn Oei and his team at the California Institute of Technology spotted two bolts of light shooting out from a black hole. Together, the pair of lights span a space in space 140 Milky Way galaxies long. These lights are called black hole jets. They’re not the first black hole jets to be observed. But studying these wondrous emissions could allow scientists to understand the more about the mechanics of the universe.
Scientists have theorized about black holes for decades. The phenomena might sound like something out of science fiction. But black holes do have a scientific explanation. Albert Einstein helped lay the groundwork for explaining how a black hole could exist. Then, in 1971, scientists discovered Cygnus X-1, a black hole 15 times larger than the Sun.
According to NASA, most large galaxies have black holes at the very center. Our galaxy’s black hole is known as Sagittarius A*. (A* is pronounced ay-star.) At only about four million times the Sun’s mass, Sagittarius A* is considered a small black hole. Others are vast by comparison.
Black holes aren’t actually holes. A black hole is an enormous, very dense object. It has an extremely strong gravitational pull. Fun fact: If you replaced our Sun with a black hole, the planets in our Solar System would continue to orbit just as they do now. But the temperature on each planet would get a lot colder.
When something gets close to a black hole, gravity exerted on it causes it to stretch. This process has a silly name: spaghettification. If the object gets closer, it will be sucked into the black hole. Dust particles and stars often get swept inside. Sometimes, the black hole spits some material back out. This causes black hole jets to form. The jets glow because of radiation.
With special radio antennas, Oei’s team first identified a black hole jet in 2022. In September, the team discovered the longest black hole jet yet. They named it Porphyrion. They’ve found about 8,000 others so far.
Why do these strange and powerful jets matter? After all, no one can see the jets by looking into the night sky, even on a clear night.
Scientists think the jets could help heat and magnetize galaxies. Earth’s magnetic fields, for example, protect the planet from harmful radiation. Might a black hole be one means God used to protect our home?
“The magnetism on our planet allows life to thrive, so we want to understand how it came to be,” says Oei.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the Moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? — Psalm 8:3-4
by Bekah McCallum in Duluth, Georgia
Why? Some scientists use their findings to suggest that life formed apart from a creator. When Christians study the data, they often see evidence of God’s care for His creation.
