Chandra detects jet from supermassive black hole in red potato galaxy

Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X‑ray Observatory have captured a striking jet emanating from a feeding supermassive black hole in the galaxy known colloquially as the “red potato.” The X‑ray images reveal a narrow, high‑energy outflow that pierces the hot, diffuse gas surrounding the galaxy, stirring and heating the material as it travels outward. The galaxy, located in a nearby galaxy cluster, has long been studied for its peculiar reddish hue and the presence of a massive black hole at its core.

The jet’s properties were measured in detail by Chandra’s high‑resolution detectors. It extends several kiloparsecs from the nucleus and carries enough kinetic energy to offset radiative cooling in the surrounding intracluster medium. The interaction between the jet and the ambient gas produces shock fronts and cavities that can be seen as depressions in the X‑ray surface brightness, indicating that the active galactic nucleus is actively regulating the thermal state of the cluster environment. The observations also provide a clear example of how accretion onto a supermassive black hole can launch powerful outflows that shape the evolution of their host galaxies.

These findings underscore the importance of AGN feedback in galaxy evolution. By heating and displacing the surrounding gas, the jet from the “red potato” galaxy helps prevent runaway star formation and maintains the balance between cooling and heating in the cluster core. The study adds a new, high‑energy perspective to our understanding of how supermassive black holes influence their cosmic neighborhoods.