UniverseEARLY RESEARCH

Black Hole Fires Four Separate Rounds of Cosmic Energy

By Space.Fan Editorial DeskSeptember 27, 2026 at 2:20 PM UTC

Astronomers have discovered a rare galaxy that shot out powerful jets of gas on four different occasions.

Image · Phys.org

The Drop

Deep in space, there is a giant galaxy acting like an old-fashioned firework show. Scientists found a galaxy with a supermassive at its center that has launched powerful jets of particles four different times. These jets blast out into space and create bright spots where they slam into clouds of gas. Normally, we see galaxies shoot these jets once or twice, but finding one that has done it four times is a first for astronomers. Researchers used three powerful radio telescopes to look at the galaxy from different angles. By studying the light from the jet hotspots, they could tell how old each pair was. The pairs closer to the center are the newest, while the ones farther out are much older. Each set of jets happened millions of years apart, showing that the has been active and quiet at different times throughout its history. This discovery was made by checking radio images to see if the jet spots were just random clusters or true historical bursts. Because the age of the spots increases the further they are from the center, the team is confident they are looking at four distinct episodes of activity.

Why It Matters

This galaxy is like a time machine for a . By studying how and when the turned its jets on and off, scientists can learn more about how s feed and grow over millions of years. It confirms that some supermassive s do not just stay on all the time but follow a cycle of waking up and going to sleep.

The Catch

While the evidence is strong, this discovery is still a new idea that is being shared as a preprint, meaning it has not yet gone through the final steps of official scientific review by other experts. It is possible that future studies could find different ways to explain why the radio spots look the way they do, though the current data points toward these separate, repeating bursts.

Put That in Perspective

Scientists have previously found galaxies that have launched jets two or three times, which they call double or triple-double radio galaxies. This new find is the first to reach four pairs, making it a record-breaker in our study of active galactic nuclei. Researchers will likely use even more sensitive telescopes next to see if they can find other galaxies with similar 'multitasking' black holes.

Source September 27, 2026

Pavan Vijay Khadekar

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune·10.48550/arXiv.2609.08506

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