NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope revealed that a jet of material ejected from a supermassive black hole triggers star eruptions along its path.
The jet was found at the center of galaxy M87.
These erupting stars aren’t caught inside the jet, but are dangerously nearby.
In double-star systems, an aging, swelled-up star spills hydrogen onto a white dwarf companion.
A white dwarf is a low-mass star that has exhausted all its central nuclear fuel.
When the white dwarf gathers enough hydrogen it erupts into space, in an event called a nova.
The white dwarf isn’t destroyed by the nova eruption…
…instead, it resumes siphoning fuel from its companion, restarting the nova-outburst cycle.
Hubble observed twice as many novae near the jet compared to other parts of the galaxy.
The jet is launched by a 6.5-billion-solar-mass black hole.
Engorged with infalling matter, the black hole shoots a 3,300-light-year-long plasma jet through space at nearly light speed.
The jet may be pushing hydrogen fuel onto white dwarfs, causing more frequent eruptions.
It’s also possible that the jet is heating the dwarf's companion star…
…leading it to overflow and deposit more hydrogen onto the white dwarf.
After more than 30 years of discoveries…
…the Hubble Space Telescope continues to uncover new mysteries that surprise astronomers.
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