Astronomers Detect Unprecedented X-Ray Pulses and Plasma Jets from Distant Black Hole

The supermassive black hole 1ES 1927+654, located 270 million light-years away, exhibits rapid X-ray flashes and emerging plasma jets, potentially linked to a nearby white dwarf.

The black hole 1ES 1927+654 has shown dramatic X-ray fluctuations, increasing in frequency from every 18 minutes to every 7 minutes over two years, a phenomenon never observed before.
Astronomers hypothesize that a white dwarf orbiting dangerously close to the black hole’s event horizon may be causing the rapid X-ray pulses by shedding material into the black hole.
Plasma jets traveling at nearly one-third the speed of light have also been detected emerging from the black hole, a rare and significant observation in real-time jet formation.
Gravitational waves from the system, if caused by the white dwarf’s orbit, may be detectable by the upcoming LISA mission in the mid-2030s, offering further insights into the system’s dynamics.
These findings, presented at the American Astronomical Society meeting, could provide new understanding of black hole physics and the extreme environments near their event horizons.

European Space Agency

New Scientist

NASA