Astronomers find universal rule behind black hole jet eruptions

Researchers found that black holes of vastly different masses launch delayed jets at the same critical feeding rate of about 2% of the Eddington limit. The study, published in Nature Astronomy, is based on 10 tidal disruption events observed in visible, UV, X-ray and radio wavelengths.

• Delayed jets appear when accretion drops to about 2% of the Eddington limit
• 20 tidal disruption events studied, 10 used for reliable estimates
• Same threshold matches jet formation in smaller Milky Way black holes
• Data came from telescopes in Australia, the US, India, South Africa and space