Shigeo S. Kimura

Astronomers nicknamed them 'little red dots' — distant galaxies where a giant black hole hides at the center, wrapped in a thick layer of hydrogen. This packaging isn't just camouflage; it's a natural cannon. The black hole sucks in matter, but some of it is spat back out in narrow jets.

At the center of galaxy NGC 4278 sits a black hole that shoots out two plasma jets, like a giant cannon firing particles into space. These jets accelerate particles to energies that no earthly accelerator could ever dream of.

A fire hose blasts into a snowdrift. The water doesn't just shove the snow aside — at the point of impact, spray, steam, and a roar are born. That's roughly how jets behave: narrow streams of matter shooting out from around a black hole at enormous speeds.

In the distant Cigar Galaxy, there is an unusual beacon. It doesn't shine in the usual sense: its rays are born in a scorching cloud around a black hole that is devouring matter from a companion star. Such objects are called ultraluminous X-ray sources. Their X-ray brilliance is so intense that it outshines entire galaxies. This cloud, the corona, is like a boiling cauldron.