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Windy Black Hole [1]

Strong "winds" of charged particles blow from the center of a spiral galaxy in this artist's concept. The image depicts a spiral galaxy, known as IRAS17020+4544, that is 800 million light-years from Earth. The galaxy is similar to our own, the Milky Way. A black hole roughly six million times heavier than the Sun sits at the center of the galaxy. It pulls in gas and dust, forming a glowing disk around the black hole. This material gets so hot that it produces winds that blow about about one-tenth of the speed of light. These winds may disrupt the birth of new stars in the galaxy's central regions. [ESA]

Strong winds blowing from a black hole in a distant spiral galaxy
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Source URL:https://legacy.stardate.org/astro-guide/gallery/windy-black-hole

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[1] https://legacy.stardate.org/astro-guide/gallery/windy-black-hole