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Record Cosmic Jets, Massive Black-Hole Flares Unveiled

5/4/2026

Summary

Black Holes’ Jets

Porphyrion’s bipolar jets span 23-24 million light-years, setting a new record for cosmic-scale outflows.
United States astronomers recorded the largest X-ray flare from Sagittarius A* on September 14 2013.
MeerKAT observations reveal degree-scale, highly collimated radio filaments emerging from Sagittarius A*, indicating narrow outflows.
VLBA timelapse of galaxy 1ES 1927+654 shows jet brightening and separation at about 30 % of light speed.
Messier 87’s black hole drives jets captured in infrared by Spitzer and the Event Horizon Telescope.

Summary

Researchers Measure Jet Power

Researchers announced the first direct measurement of Cygnus X-1’s black-hole jet power.
The measurement validates a 2015 UW-Madison simulation by professor Sebastian Heinz and graduate DooSoo Yoon of wind-bent jets.
Using VLBA and European VLBI Network observations from a 5.5-day orbit in 2016 and 18 years of archives, the team derived the jet’s kinetic power directly.
The measured power provides a parameter for galaxy-formation models that previously used assumed outflow values.

Summary

Researchers Measure Jets

Researchers measured Cygnus X-1’s jets to carry energy about 10,000 times the Sun’s output.
They inferred the power by analyzing the jet’s bend from the companion star’s wind using a force-balance calculation.
Because the bend reflects conditions within about an hour of launch, the method yields an instantaneous estimate.
Lead author Steve Prabu says the technique provides an anchor for black-hole feedback studies and can test other X-ray binaries with strong winds.

History

Historical Context

The X-ray source Cygnus X-1 was first detected by sounding rockets in 1964 and confirmed as a black-hole candidate after Uhuru’s 1970 survey and 1971 radio pinpointing by Luc Braes, George Miley and Robert Hjellming. Today, University of Wisconsin–Madison astronomers use VLBA data to measure its jet power at about 10,000 solar luminosities, building on that early validation.

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Black Holes’ Jets

Porphyrion’s bipolar jets span 23-24 million light-years, setting a new record for cosmic-scale outflows.
United States astronomers recorded the largest X-ray flare from Sagittarius A* on September 14 2013.
MeerKAT observations reveal degree-scale, highly collimated radio filaments emerging from Sagittarius A*, indicating narrow outflows.
VLBA timelapse of galaxy 1ES 1927+654 shows jet brightening and separation at about 30 % of light speed.
Messier 87’s black hole drives jets captured in infrared by Spitzer and the Event Horizon Telescope.

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