Professor James Miller-Jones

Black holes, relativistic jets and our powerful Universe

Supermassive black holes change too slowly for us to observe, but their smaller cousins might provide some clues to their properties.

Prof James Miller-Jones is studying the powerful jets of plasma launched by low-mass black holes within the Milky Way, aiming to understand how they work. He hopes this will provide new insights into the workings of supermassive black holes in distant galaxies.

For James, who has been interested in astronomy since way back when, using giant radio telescopes and planning for the SKA pathfinders is all about discovery and solving the mysteries of the Universe.

“Every time I look at a set of telescope data, there is the possibility of finding something new and unique, something that no-one else has ever seen before. When I’m on the cusp of a new discovery like that, I can’t go to sleep until I’ve got the answer.”

Research Specialisation: Radio jets in X-ray binaries