Astronomers measure the mind-blowing power and speed of black hole jets for the first time

For the first time, an international team of scientists has successfully measured the instantaneous power and speed of jets erupting from a black hole.

 According to research published in Nature Astronomy on April 16, 2026, these "dancing jets" carry an immense amount of energy—equivalent to the power output of 10,000 suns, News.Az reports, citing Science Alert.

The team, led by Dr. Steve Prabu of Oxford University and Curtin University, also determined that the jets travel at roughly 355 million mph, which is about half the speed of light.

The study focused on Cygnus X-1, a well-known binary system located 7,200 light-years away in our Milky Way galaxy. This system consists of a black hole and a massive blue supergiant star that orbit one another. As the black hole "feeds" on gases pulled from its companion star, it launches powerful jets of plasma into space. By using a global network of radio telescopes, researchers tracked how the fierce stellar winds from the supergiant star pushed and bent these jets—a phenomenon Prabu likened to a water fountain being buffeted by a strong breeze.

This discovery provides a rare, direct measurement of a black hole's "energy budget." The data revealed that approximately 10% of the energy produced as matter falls toward the black hole is carried away by these jets. While this 10% figure has long been used in computer simulations of the universe, it had never been confirmed through direct observation until now. These findings are critical for understanding how black holes help shape galaxies and larger cosmic structures through high-scale turbulence and shocks.

News.Az 

By Leyla Şirinova