F1 pit crews can only dream of being this fast.
In a new study in The Astrophysical Journal, a research team including Yale scientists reports the discovery of a possible “ultra-fast inflow” — gas falling into a supermassive black hole at about 15% to 20% of the speed of light — in a distant galaxy.
“This could represent a rare glimpse into how black holes pull in matter, offering valuable insight into chaotic accretion processes,” said first author Alessandro Peca, a researcher at Eureka Scientific and laboratory associate in Yale’s Department of Physics.
The gas inflow appeared in two separate observations by NASA’s NuSTAR X-ray space telescope, in 2023 and 2024, in a galaxy designated “ESP 39607.” The inflow was occurring at about 100 to 134 million miles per hour.
Documented cases of ultra-fast inflows are rare, astronomers say, due to their short-lived nature.
Meg Urry, the Israel Munson Professor of Physics in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, is a co-author of the new study, along with colleagues from Eureka Scientific, Diego Portales University in Chile, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the California Institute of Technnology.
This story is taken from the Yale News Insights & Outcomes report of September 9, 2025, written by Karen Guzman and Jim Shelton.