Black hole near Earth 'burps' gas

By Pietro Lombardi, for CNN

Updated 1327 GMT (2127 HKT) January 6, 2016

Astronomers noticed huge waves of gas being "burped" by the black hole at the
center of NGC 5195.

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Massive black hole at the center of NGC 5195, a small galaxy 26 million
light years from Earth, "burps" gas, astronomers believe

Energy generated by the sudden inflow of gas towards the black hole
caused the outburst

(CNN)Black holes have long been known for "destroying" matter, with
scientists usually referring to them as "eating" gas and stars. This reputation
may be about to change.
Astronomers noticed two gigantic waves of gas being "burped" by the massive
black hole at the center of NGC 5195, a small galaxy 26 million light years from
Earth. It's one of the closest "supermassive" black holes to our planet to be
showing such activity.
The team believes the outburst is a consequence of the interaction of NGC
5195 with a nearby, larger galaxy. The energy generated by the sudden inflow of
gas towards the black hole caused the outburst, which, according to the team,
amassed enough material to prompt the formation of new stars.

See black hole shred passing star 00:57

"Apparently, black holes can also burp after their meal," the University of
Texas's Eric Schlegel, who led the study, told NASA. "Our observation is
important because this behavior would likely happen very often in the early
universe, altering the evolution of galaxies. It is common for big black holes to
expel gas outward, but rare to have such a close, resolved view of these
events."
Using X-ray images from NASA's Chandra Observatory and optical images from
the Kitt Peak National Observatory, Schlegel and his team spotted the two arcs
of gas, preceded by a thin layer of cooler hydrogen gas. This suggests that the
hotter gas snatched the hydrogen gas from the heart of the galaxy.
This outburst is an example of "feedback" between a supermassive black hole
and the host galaxy.
"We think that feedback keeps galaxies from becoming too large," said HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CFA)'s Marie Machacek, a co-author of
the study. "But at the same time, it can be responsible for how some stars form.
This shows that black holes can create, not just destroy."

According to the team, who presented the study at the 227th meeting of the
American Astronomical Society, the burp happened a few million years ago: The
inner wave of gas took about three million years to reach its current position,
and the outer twice as much.