Hubble Detects Gas Outflow in NGC 1266, Linking 100-Million-Light-Year Galaxy's Black Hole to Star Shutdown
Updated
Updated · Sci.News · May 18
Hubble Detects Gas Outflow in NGC 1266, Linking 100-Million-Light-Year Galaxy's Black Hole to Star Shutdown
3 articles · Updated · Sci.News · May 18
Hubble and other observatories found a strong gas outflow in NGC 1266 and shocked, highly disturbed space between its stars, pointing to an active process shutting down star formation.
The evidence suggests the galaxy’s supermassive black hole is stripping or ejecting star-forming gas, while shockwaves and turbulence keep the remaining material from collapsing into new stars.
Any surviving stellar nurseries appear confined to the core, with very little to no star formation beyond it in the rare post-starburst galaxy.
NGC 1266, about 100 million light-years away, likely entered this phase after a minor merger roughly 500 million years ago fed its central black hole and triggered a burst of star formation.
Astronomers say the lenticular galaxy offers a close-up case of how galaxies evolve from star-forming systems into quieter ellipticals; only about 1% of nearby galaxies are post-starburst.
Can a galaxy silenced by its own black hole ever reignite and form new stars in the future?
If a black hole's energy isn't enough, what makes its star-quenching attack on a galaxy effective?