Largest Gas Stream Ever Observed Erupts From Galaxy VV 340a

Astronomers at the University of California, Irvine have identified what appears too be the largest stream of super-heated gas ever observed in the universe, flowing out of a nearby galaxy known as VV 340a. The findings were reported in the journal Science.

Revelation Details

Using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the researchers detected vast clouds of extremely hot gas erupting from both sides of the galaxy. These glowing structures form two long, narrow nebulae driven by intense activity around a supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s core. Each nebula stretches at least three kiloparsecs in length (one parsec equates to roughly 19 trillion miles).

For comparison, the entire disk of the VV 340a galaxy measures only about three kiloparsecs in thickness.

“In other galaxies, this type of highly energized gas is almost always confined to several tens of parsecs from a galaxy’s black hole, and our discovery exceeds what is typically seen by a factor of 30 or more,” said led author Justin Kader, a UC Irvine postdoctoral researcher in physics and astronomy.

Powerful Black Hole Jets

Radio observations from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array near San Agustin,New Mexico revealed a pair of massive plasma jets emerging from opposite sides of the galaxy. These jets form when gas falling into a supermassive black hole reaches extreme temperatures and interacts with powerful magnetic fields, launching energized material outward at tremendous speeds.

These jets trace a spiral-like path through space, indicating a process known as “jet precession”—a gradual shift in the direction of the jets over time, similar to the wobble of a spinning top.

“This is the first observation of a precessing kiloparsec-scale radio jet in a disk galaxy.To our knowledge, this is the first time we have seen a kiloparsec, or galactic-scale, precessing radio jet driving a massive coronal gas outflow.” – Justin Kader

Rare Coronal Gas Outflow

As the jets push outward, they collide with surrounding material inside the galaxy, forcing it away from the center and heating it to extreme temperatures. This creates coronal line gas – highly ionized, super-hot plasma, named after the sun’s outer atmosphere.

This type of coronal gas is usually found very close to a black hole and rarely extends far into the host galaxy, or outside it. The observations of VV 340a are therefore highly unusual.

The energy carried by the coronal gas is equivalent to 10 quintillion hydrogen bombs exploding every second.

“We found the most extended and coherent coronal gas structure to date,” said senior co-author Vivian U, a former UC Irvine research astronomer who is now an associate scientist at Caltech’s Infrared Processing and analysis Center. “We expected JWST to open up the wavelength window where these tools for probing active supermassive black holes would be available to us, but we had not expected to see such highly collimated and extended emission in the first object we looked at. It was a nice surprise.”

A Multi-Telescope Perspective

The complete picture emerged by combining data from multiple observatories. Observations from the Keck II Telescope in Hawaii uncovered cooler gas extending up to 15 kiloparsecs from the black hole. This cooler material is thought to be a “fossil record” of earlier jet activity – leftover debris from previous expulsions of gas.

The Role of the James Webb Space Telescope

The Webb telescope, observing in infrared light, was critical for detecting the coronal gas. Infrared light penetrates dust that blocks visible light,allowing Webb to see deep into VV 340a.

Impact on Star Formation

The black hole jets are dramatically impacting VV 340a, causing it to lose enough gas each year to form 19 stars like our sun. This process substantially limits star formation by heating and removing star-forming gas.

Implications for the Milky Way

While no similar jet is currently active in the Milky Way, evidence suggests our own supermassive black hole experienced a feeding event about two million years ago, potentially visible to early human ancestors.

the researchers plan to examine other galaxies for similar features to better understand how black hole activity influences galactic evolution.

“We are excited to continue exploring such never-before-seen phenomena at different physical scales of galaxies using observations from these state-of-the-art tools,and we can’t wait to see what else we will find,” U said.

Key Takeaways

• Astronomers have discovered the largest stream of super-heated gas ever observed,emanating from the galaxy VV 340a.
• The outflow is driven by a supermassive black hole and observed using the James Webb Space Telescope and other observatories.
• The discovery reveals a precessing jet,a rare phenomenon where the jet’s direction shifts over time.
• The outflow is significantly impacting star formation in VV 340a.
• This research provides insights into the evolution of galaxies and the potential past activity of our own Milky Way.

Funding for the research was provided by NASA and the National Science Foundation.