The behemoth has prevented innumerable stars from forming

Jan 24, 2014 08:12 GMT  ·  By
CXO/Hubble image of the ultramassive black hole powering up a behemoth elliptical galaxy at the core of the cluster RX J1532.9+3021.
   CXO/Hubble image of the ultramassive black hole powering up a behemoth elliptical galaxy at the core of the cluster RX J1532.9+3021.

An international team of astronomers has recently used the NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) and other telescopes to conduct an investigation that revealed more details about one of the most powerful black holes ever discovered in space. 

According to the group, the dark behemoth has triggered the formation of vast structures within the gas clouds that surround it. These influences have most likely prevented the formation of several trillion stars, primarily due to the fact that molecular hydrogen gas clouds were thoroughly scattered.

The ultramassive black hole is located within the galactic cluster RX J1532.9+3021, which itself lies nearly 4 billion light-years away from Earth. The image attached to this article features Chandra X-ray data and optical background images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

The photo reveals that massive effect that the black hole has on its surroundings. Astrophysicists argue that the tremendously large black hole may weigh up to a quadrillion solar mass, which is the equivalent of a thousand trillions solar masses. The object developed within a massive elliptical galaxy that lies at the very core of the cluster.

Using data from Chandra and the US National Science Foundation's (NSF) Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), investigators were able to determine in the new X-ray study that the black hole creates two massive cavities in the huge gas expanses that surround it.

These cavities extend outwards beyond the boundaries of the massive elliptical galaxy, preventing stellar formation even inside the central areas of the galactic cluster. This lack of stellar formation is what drew astronomers' attention to the RX J1532.9+3021 system in the first place. Since then, they have been looking for explanations on what prevents the emergence of numerous stellar nurseries.

The new study revealed that the ultramassive black hole creates sonic boom-like shock waves that travel through the gas, scattering it to the four winds. The cavities produced as a result of this phenomenon are 100,000 light-years across, which is roughly the diameter of the Milky Way.

The new investigation was conducted by a team of experts from the Stanford University, led by expert Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo. Details of the work were published in the November 10, 2013 issue of the esteemed Astrophysical Journal.

The team says that their proposals dealing with the ultramassive nature of this powerful black hole is supported by the fact that the object appears to release very few X-rays. This can be explained by the fact that extremely large black holes can produce powerful jets even if they consume just a little matter.