RBH-1: Runaway supermassive black hole leaves 200,000-light-year star-forming wake
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have confirmed a runaway supermassive black hole, RBH-1, ejected from its host galaxy and racing at about 950–1,000 km/s, carving a 62-kiloparsec (roughly 200,000 light-years) wake of ionized gas and newborn stars. The black hole itself remains unseen; the wake forms as the object drives a supersonic bow shock through surrounding gas, with mass estimates for RBH-1 from about 10 to 20 million solar masses. The escape could result from gravitational-wave recoil or a three-body interaction; such wakes could be used to count how often galaxies eject their central black holes. Future wide-field missions like Euclid and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could help find more examples.
