Un agujero negro supermasivo captado mientras jugaba con su comida
Esta imagen de la semana muestra una impresionante galaxia espiral conocida como NGC 4945. Este pequeño rincón del espacio, cerca de la constelación de Centauro y a más de 12 millones de años luz de distancia, puede parecer pacífico, pero NGC 4945 está enzarzado en una violenta lucha.
En el centro de casi todas las galaxias hay un agujero negro supermasivo. Algunos, como el que se encuentra en el centro de nuestra propia Vía Láctea, no son particularmente voraces. Pero el agujero negro supermasivo de NGC 4945 tiene hambre, consume enormes cantidades de materia, y el instrumento MUSE, instalado en el Very Large Telescope (VLT) de ESO, lo ha captado jugando con su comida. Este devorador desordenado, al contrario de la típica imagen que tenemos de un agujero negro como algo que todo lo consume, está expulsando poderosos vientos de materia. Este viento, en forma de cono, se muestra en rojo en el recuadro, superpuesto a una imagen más amplia captada con el telescopio MPG/ESO en La Silla. De hecho, este viento se mueve tan rápido que terminará escapando de la galaxia por completo, perdido en el vacío del espacio intergaláctico.
Esto es parte de un nuevo estudio que midió cómo se mueven los vientos en varias galaxias cercanas. Las observaciones de MUSE muestran que estos vientos increíblemente rápidos tienen un comportamiento extraño: en realidad se aceleran alejándose del agujero negro central, acelerando aún más en su viaje hacia las afueras galácticas.
Este proceso expulsa material que potencialmente podría formar estrellas en una galaxia, lo que sugiere que los agujeros negros controlan el destino de sus galaxias anfitrionas al amortiguar la tasa de natalidad estelar. También muestra que los agujeros negros más potentes frenan su propio crecimiento al eliminar el gas y el polvo de los que se alimentan, lo que acerca a todo el sistema a una especie de equilibrio galáctico. Ahora, con estos nuevos resultados, estamos un paso más cerca de comprender el mecanismo de aceleración de los vientos responsables de dar forma a la evolución de las galaxias y a la historia del universo.
Enlaces
- Artículo de investigación en Nature Astronomy por Marconcini et al.
- Vista de cerca del núcleo de NGC 4945
Crédito:
ESO/C. Marconcini et al.
Sobre la imagen
| Identificador: | potw2513a |
| Idioma: | es-cl |
| Tipo: | Fotográfico |
| Fecha de publicación: | 31 de Marzo de 2025 a las 11:00 |
| Tamaño: | 5538 x 3137 px |
Sobre el objeto
| Nombre: | NGC 4945 |
| Tipo: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral Local Universe : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole |
Formatos de imagen
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