The scientists are formal, this contrail follows the supermassive black hole well (20 million times the mass of our Sun) which is moving away from its host galaxy at a speed of 5.6 million km/h. However, black holes are known to eject plasma and astrophysical jets, which could have been the case with this contrail. So the team had to rule out that possibility by analyzing the data. Result : she didn’t have none of the telltale signs of an astrophysical jet.
Not only are the astrophysical jets supposed to decrease as one moves away from its origin (which is not the case here, the strength of the drag increases) but in addition “astrophysical jets launched by black holes fan out from their source, while this trail seems to have remained linear“. So only solution : the black hole swallows the gas around its host galaxy and compresses it enough to trigger the formation of stars.
“If confirmed, it would be the first time we have clear evidence that supermassive black holes can escape galaxies.“, supports Pieter from Dockum. Des observations with other telescopes are needed to find direct evidence of a black hole at the start of the mysterious contrail, he concludes.
If you are interested in the mystery of black holes, find all the articles on the subject.