This was
your sky.

IXPE Explores a Black Hole Jet

NASA's IXPE satellite has provided new insights into how black holes create X-rays. While X-rays cannot escape a black hole, they can be generated in the surrounding energetic environment, particularly by outward-moving particle jets. Observations of X-ray light from the supermassive black hole in galaxy BL Lac showed a lack of significant polarization. This suggests the X-rays are not produced by synchrotron radiation alone, a key finding for understanding blazar jets.