--- title: Black Holes Emit ‘Fierce Winds’ That Inhibit New Stars description: Researchers say that new data indicate that a black hole emits powerful winds that regulate the creation of new stars around it. canonical: https://time.com/3715653/black-hole-winds-nasa-esa/ author: Noah Rayman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-19T20:21:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T04:33:28.408Z article:section: Science og:title: Black Holes Emit ‘Fierce Winds’ That Inhibit New Stars og:description: Researchers say that new data indicate that a black hole emits powerful winds that regulate the creation of new stars around it. og:url: https://time.com/3715653/black-hole-winds-nasa-esa/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfdce1af08bcd3d8c/69878020a988ca63fe6ac8f7/nasa-black-hole-winds.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Supermassive black holes at the cores of galaxies blast out radiation and ultra-fast winds, as illustrated in this artist's conception. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Black Holes Emit ‘Fierce Winds’ That Inhibit New Stars twitter:description: Researchers say that new data indicate that a black hole emits powerful winds that regulate the creation of new stars around it. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfdce1af08bcd3d8c/69878020a988ca63fe6ac8f7/nasa-black-hole-winds.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Black Hole Emits ‘Fierce Winds’ That Prevent New Stars Forming ## Video: TIME Explains: The Most Distant Galaxy in the Universe [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Explains: The Most Distant Galaxy in the Universe](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9OCmo1zS.m3u8) (1:42)  _Published 2013-10-28. What does it mean for a galaxy to be the most distant galaxy disovered? The numbers are staggering—here's what you need to know_  by [Noah Rayman](https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Feb 19, 2015 8:21 PM UTC  Supermassive black holes at the cores of galaxies blast out radiation and ultra-fast winds, as illustrated in this artist's conception. Supermassive black holes at the cores of galaxies blast out radiation and ultra-fast winds, as illustrated in this artist's conception.JPL-Caltech/NASA  by [Noah Rayman](https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Feb 19, 2015 8:21 PM UTC Researchers say that new data from a black hole 2 billion light years away indicate that it emits powerful winds in all directions that help to regulate its growth as well as the growth of the galaxy around it. The research, based on observations from a NASA and a European Space Agency space telescope, was published in the latest issue of the [journal Science](http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6224/860). NASA [released](http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/february/nasa-esa-telescopes-give-shape-to-furious-black-hole-winds/#.VOY3vbDF9fc) an artist’s conception of the radiation and winds emitted by a black hole. The study found that the black hole, labelled PDS 456, sustains winds blowing up to a third the speed of light that carry more energy per second than the amount emitted by a trillion suns. These winds, produced as the black hole sucks in matter, push gas outward and thereby help restrict both the growth of the black hole and the formation of stars in the galaxy. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3715653/black-hole-winds-nasa-esa/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3715653/black-hole-winds-nasa-esa/"},"headline":"Black Hole Emits ‘Fierce Winds’ That Prevent New Stars Forming","datePublished":"2015-02-19T20:21:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:33:28.408Z","description":"Shouldn't have eaten that entire galaxy","url":"https://time.com/3715653/black-hole-winds-nasa-esa/","keywords":["Space","NASA"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfdce1af08bcd3d8c/69878020a988ca63fe6ac8f7/nasa-black-hole-winds.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfdce1af08bcd3d8c/69878020a988ca63fe6ac8f7/nasa-black-hole-winds.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Supermassive black holes at the cores of galaxies blast out radiation and ultra-fast winds, as illustrated in this artist's conception.","caption":"Supermassive black holes at the cores of galaxies blast out radiation and ultra-fast winds, as illustrated in this artist's conception.","creditText":"JPL-Caltech/NASA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3715653/black-hole-winds-nasa-esa/","name":"Black Hole Emits ‘Fierce Winds’ That Prevent New Stars Forming"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Explains: The Most Distant Galaxy in the Universe","description":"What does it mean for a galaxy to be the most distant galaxy disovered? The numbers are staggering—here's what you need to know","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/9OCmo1zS/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-10-28T16:27:41.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9OCmo1zS.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3715653/black-hole-winds-nasa-esa/","duration":"PT1M42S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3715653/black-hole-winds-nasa-esa/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```