Supermassive Black Hole Continues Emitting Powerful Jet Years After Consuming Star
Astronomers have observed the supermassive black hole AT2018hyz, located 665 million light-years away, emitting a powerful and increasingly intense jet of material for six years after consuming a star. This prolonged emission duration is unprecedented for tidal disruption events, which typically involve a star being torn apart by a black hole's gravity. The delayed radio energy from the jet was detected using the Very Large Array in New Mexico, United States, and the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa. Researchers, including Yvette Cendes from the University of Oregon, led the study and monitored the black hole's activity over this extended period. These observations challenge existing theories on tidal disruption events, suggesting that the effects and emissions from such phenomena may last significantly longer than previously understood.
