Scientists may have detected the fastest winds in space to date. With the help of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, researchers have discovered winds at ultraviolet wavelengths near a supermassive black hole.
Researchers have known that quasar winds exist since the late 1960s. In fact, at least one in four quasars, which are discs of hot gas that form around supermassive black holes, have these winds.
"We're taking wind speeds of 20 percent the speed of light, which is more than 200 million kilometers an hour," said Jesse Rogerson, who led the new research. "That's equivalent to a category 77 hurricane. And we have reason to believe that there are quasar winds that are even faster."
In this latest study, the researchers looked at data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in order to identify outflows from quasars. In all, the researchers spotted about 300 examples and then selected about 100 of these to study more in depth.
"Black holes have a mass that is billions of times larger than the sun, mostly because they are messy eaters in a way, capturing any material that ventures too close," said Patrick Hall, one of the researchers. "But as matter spirals toward a black hole, some of it is blown away by the heat and light of the quasar. These are the winds that we are detecting."
What did they find? Not only did they confirm the fastest-ever ultraviolet wind, but they also discovered a new wind in the same quasar that was moving more slowly. This comparatively slow-moving wind whipped around at about 140 million kilometers per hour.
"Quasar winds play an important role in galaxy formation," Rogerson said. "When galaxies form, these winds fling material outwards and deter the creation of stars. If such winds didn't exist or were less powerful, we would see far more stars in big galaxies than we actually do."
The findings reveal a bit more about these fast-moving winds. More specifically, they could pave the way for further research when it comes to galaxy formation. This could be huge when it comes to better understanding the beginnings of the universe.
The findings are published in the March 2016 journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
