Supermassive Black Holes Fire Bullet-Like Winds at Near Light Speed

Scientists have discovered that winds from supermassive black holes behave like high-energy bullets rather than steady streams, SciTech Daily reported.

Recent observations, led by teams from JAXA, NASA, ESA, and Durham University, reveal that these outflows travel at nearly a third of the speed of light and consist of many clumpy, scattered components.

This finding challenges previous models that assumed smooth, continuous gas streams. Instead, the winds appear highly inhomogeneous, with up to a million clumps, creating a stop-and-go effect. These chaotic blasts can inject significant energy into their host galaxies, potentially halting or slowing star formation by disrupting gas clouds unevenly.

The data, obtained using the XRISM telescope, allow scientists to track variations in wind speed and composition, offering new insights into how black holes influence galaxy growth. The study suggests that intermittent, bullet-like wind episodes may shape galaxy structure over time, explaining why some galaxies quench star formation faster than others.

Published in Nature, this discovery may reshape understanding of black hole feedback and galaxy evolution.