The Impressive Power of Galactic Black Hole Winds.

The SUBWAYS project, an international research effort, has used the ESA’s XMM-Newton space telescope to study ultra-fast outflows (UFOs) emitted by supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at the center of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The team analyzed X-ray spectroscopic data to characterize the properties of UFOs in 22 luminous galaxies and found that in about 30% of the AGNs analyzed, there are space winds traveling at speeds of 10% to 30% of the speed of light. These winds are believed to play a vital role in regulating the process of star formation and shaping the evolution process of galaxies.