Astronomers Discover the 1st Black Hole Powered 'Microquasar' in the Milky Way
The findings link black hole jet systems to the cosmic-ray knee and show the sources can accelerate particles to PeV energies, researchers said.
- On November 16, 2025, the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory identified five micro-quasars as the likely origin of the "knee," a mysterious energy drop in cosmic rays discovered nearly 70 years ago.
- As binary systems, micro-quasars launch relativistic jets when black holes siphon material from companion stars, accelerating particles to petaelectronvolt energies throughout the Milky Way.
- LHAASO detected ultra-high-energy gamma rays from SS 433, V4641 Sgr, GRS 1915+105, MAXI J1820+070, and Cygnus X-1, with SS 433 proton energies exceeding 1 PeV and power reaching approximately 1032 joules per second.
- Another micro-quasar, V4641 Sgr, produced gamma rays reaching 0.8 PeV, identifying it as a "super PeV particle accelerator," while the proton spectrum revealed an unexpected "high-energy component."
- These findings tie the "knee" structure to black hole jet systems, resolving decades-long tension by providing a local laboratory for studying cosmic particle accelerators and blazar physics.
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Astronomers have discovered the first "microblazar" structure within the Milky Way galaxy with a jet directed directly towards Earth.
Microquasars emerge as the Milky Way’s most extreme particle engines
LHAASO has uncovered that micro-quasars, black holes feeding on companion stars, are powerful PeV particle accelerators. Their jets produce ultra-high-energy gamma rays and protons that exceed long-held expectations. Precise cosmic-ray measurements reveal a new high-energy component, suggesting multiple sources within the Milky Way. These findings finally tie the “knee” structure to black hole jet systems.
Madrid, 22 Sep (EFE).- An international team of scientists has discovered the first microblazar of the Milky Way, a black hole that orbits a massive star and expels matter at extreme speeds. These objects, predicted 30 years ago by the theorists, had not been found until now. The microblazar, discovered by a team of astronomers from [...] The entry The first microblazar of Milky Way: a black hole that expels matter to the Earth was first publish…
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