ⓘ NASA – Unsplash
An illustration showing two black holes.
Recently, astronomers have detected powerful winds in a quasar located several billion light-years from Earth. And this is an important discovery that could help researchers to better understand black holes.
In the universe, many objects remain mysterious and poorly understood by astronomers, such as black holes. But recently, astronomers have discovered a black hole with winds reaching up to 30% of the speed of light, or about 201.2 million miles per hour.
These winds were detected in a quasar, which is a bright core of a galaxy fed by a supermassive black hole. Thus, this quasar, named J2318, is located about 3 billion light-years from Earth, and according to astronomers, its mass is estimated to be about 1.7 billion times that of the Sun.
However, while its mass is already remarkable, the speed of its winds is also impressive, as Lucas Seaton explains:
“In terms of its speed, this quasar’s wind could be called a category 79 hurricane. Every category of hurricane is about 20% faster than the category below it. Calling it Category 79 gives an idea of just how fast it is, but of course this wind is unlike anything on Earth.”
ⓘ NASA
An illustration showing a quasar.
Indeed, these are not winds like those found on Earth, as they are composed of matter propelled at high speeds. And that’s not all, because in order to detect this phenomenon, astronomers used data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS).
As a result, while this discovery highlights the power of black holes, it also allows researchers to better understand these celestial objects, which remain mysterious and poorly understood. And there is no doubt that further studies will be conducted in the near future.
Alexis Stegmann – Tech Writer – 659 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2025
I’ve been working in the field of web writing for several years, and I’m passionate about keeping readers up to date with the latest news on astronomy, technology, the world of video games and other exciting subjects. In particular, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a number of websites, which has enabled me to cover a wide range of subjects. In my personal life, I’m passionate about a wide range of subjects, including astronomy, video games, history and science. I’m also drawn to psychology, which is a subject that deserves greater documentation and recognition.