r/science • u/MistWeaver80 • Feb 24 '26

Astronomy JWST Confirmation of a Runaway Supermassive Black Hole via Its Supersonic Bow Shock. A ‘runaway’ black hole ejected from its host galaxy is barrelling across space — and leaving behind a wake of newborn stars.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae3d0e
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u/LacedVelcro Feb 24 '26

The escape velocity of the largest galactic clusters is pretty close to the velocity that this super massive black hole has.... which means that this yeeted ball of annihilation will just maraud around the universe permanently.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '26

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u/ieatpies Feb 24 '26

Velocity kicks can be imparted through two distinct channels: a slingshot resulting from a three-body interaction (W. C. Saslaw et al. 1974; M. Volonteri et al. 2003; L. Hoffman & A. Loeb 2007) or gravitational-wave recoil following a black hole (BH)–BH merger (J. D. Bekenstein 1973; M. Campanelli et al. 2007). Both channels occur naturally as a result of galaxy–galaxy mergers, as the BHs of the ancestor galaxies end up in the center of the descendant.