---
title: "Black holes affect galaxies through jets of hot plasma spanning hundreds of thousands of light-years"
description: "Astronomers found that jets of hot plasma from supermassive black holes heat gas hundreds of thousands of light-years away, slowing down the birth of new stars."
date: 2026-09-27T10:44:15.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/black-holes-affect-galaxies-through-plasma-jets
tags: [black-holes, astronomy, galaxies, plasma-jets, desi, lofar]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Black holes affect galaxies through jets of hot plasma spanning hundreds of thousands of light-years

![Supermassive black hole ejects a jet of hot plasma into space](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/27/chernye-dyry-vliiaiut-na-galaktiki-cherez-strui-plazmy/chernye-dyry-vliiaiut-na-galaktiki-cherez-strui-plazmy-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Supermassive black holes eject jets of hot plasma spanning hundreds of thousands of light-years.
- Jets heat surrounding gas, preventing it from cooling and forming new stars.
- The study combined data from the DESI optical survey and LOFAR radio observations.

Astronomers have found new evidence that supermassive black holes can fundamentally influence the evolution of entire stellar systems. Jets of hot plasma erupting from the vicinities of actively feeding black holes are capable of affecting surrounding gas at distances of hundreds of thousands of light-years. As a result, the gas loses its ability to cool effectively, which directly impacts the processes of new star formation.

### Large-scale study of cosmic jets

The study was conducted by an international team of scientists led by Sanchayeeta Borthakur from Arizona State University and Namrata Roy from the Raman Research Institute in India. The results of this work were published in the prestigious scientific journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Around almost every large galaxy lies a huge halo of diffuse gas, which serves as a strategic reservoir of material for future generations of stars. Gradually, this gas should cool, sink to the center of the galaxy, and serve as building material, but in practice, this process is regulated by central objects.

### Heating mechanics and the role of the DESI survey

 To understand how black holes suppress star formation, researchers analyzed data from hundreds of galaxies, combining the DESI optical survey and LOFAR radio observations. Scientists looked for weak hydrogen emission in the circumgalactic medium. It turned out that in the directions of plasma outflows—jets—the emission is significantly stronger than in other areas. This proves that jets act as directed spotlights, transferring colossal energy to matter at the furthest outer boundaries of gas clouds.### Contradictory data

Despite compelling evidence of general gas heating by jets, debates persist in the scientific community regarding the precise mechanisms of energy distribution. Some researchers note that the distribution of cooler gas around galaxies remains relatively uniform, casting doubt on models of complete material displacement. In addition, new observations of individual giant jets exceeding the size of the Milky Way dozens of times reveal complex interaction patterns that do not yet fully fit into classical simulations of galactic evolution.

### Implications for galaxy evolution

 The new study overcame a historical difficulty in astronomy—the giant scale gap between a tiny central black hole and vast gaseous halo regions. The findings confirm that black hole activity is a major brake on star formation. By heating gas over immense distances, black holes shape the appearance and pace of Universe evolution for billions of years.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Черные дыры влияют на галактики через струи раскаленной плазмы, которые простираются на сотни тысяч световых лет](https://www.ixbt.com/news/2026/09/27/438598-cernye-dyry-vliiaiut-na-galaktiki-cerez-strui-raskalennoi-plazmy-kotorye-prostiraiutsia-na-sotni-tysiac-svetovyx-let.html) - Основной источник статьи, дублирующий выводы исследования в The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
- [Обнаружены черные дыры, выпускающие струи размером в 70 раз больше Млечного Пути (фото)](https://focus.ua/technologies/735281-obnaruzheny-chernye-dyry-vypuskayushchie-strui-razmerom-v-70-raz-bolshe-mlechnogo-puti-foto) - Используется для контекста противоречивых данных о масштабах космических джетов.
- [Черная дыра проснулась после 100 млн лет сна: астрономы показали, как это было (фото)](https://focus.ua/technologies/740769-chernaya-dyra-prosnulas-posle-100-mln-let-sna-astronomy-pokazali-kak-eto-bylo-foto) - Используется для контекста противоречивых данных о масштабах космических джетов.
- [Самое детальное видео джета черной дыры поставило под сомнение представления о его устройстве](https://naked-science.ru/article/astronomy/video-dzheta-somnenie-o-ego-ustroistve) - Дополнительный источник для аргументации научной дискуссии и противоречивых данных.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: How do black holes affect galaxy development?
**A:** They eject jets of hot plasma that heat gas over hundreds of thousands of light-years, preventing its cooling and the formation of new stars.

### Q: What scientific instruments were used in the study?
**A:** Scientists combined data from the DESI optical survey and LOFAR radio observations to search for weak hydrogen emission around hundreds of galaxies.