A Curtin University astronomer is a step closer to understanding
how black holes launch superfast ‘bullets’ of gas into space, by
identifying the exact moment when the bullets form. Combining
observations from a NASA satellite and a radio telescope,
principal investigator James Miller-Jones led a team of radio
astronomers from around the world to make the discovery. Dr
Miller-Jones said identifying the moment when the bullets of gas
were launched would help radio astronomers better understand the
physics of how and why black holes launch fast-moving flows of
material outwards. “The research focuses on star systems called
X-ray binaries,” Dr Miller-Jones said. “These are double-star
systems in which a normal star is in a very close orbit with a
black hole. “Due to their proximity, gas from the normal star is
pulled in towards the black hole by its enormous gravitational
field. Dr Miller-Jones said that some of the gas spiralling
inwards is flung outwards in narrow beams of ionized gas called
‘jets’, probably w