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NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope revealed that
a jet of material ejected from a supermassive black hole
triggers star eruptions along its path.

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The jet was found at the center of galaxy M87.

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These erupting stars aren’t caught
inside the jet, but are dangerously nearby.

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In double-star systems, an aging, swelled-up star
spills hydrogen onto a white dwarf companion.

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A white dwarf is a low-mass star that
has exhausted all its central nuclear fuel.

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When the white dwarf gathers enough hydrogen
it erupts into space, in an event called a nova.

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The white dwarf isn’t
destroyed by the nova eruption…

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…instead, it resumes siphoning fuel from its companion,
restarting the nova-outburst cycle.

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Hubble observed twice as many novae near
the jet compared to other parts of the galaxy.

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The jet is launched by a 6.5-billion-solar-mass black hole.

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Engorged with infalling matter, the black hole shoots
a 3,300-light-year-long plasma jet through space at nearly light speed.

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The jet may be pushing hydrogen fuel onto white dwarfs,
causing more frequent eruptions.

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It’s also possible that the jet is
heating the dwarf's companion star…

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…leading it to overflow and deposit
more hydrogen onto the white dwarf.

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After more than 30 years of discoveries…

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…the Hubble Space Telescope continues to
uncover new mysteries that surprise astronomers.

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