The researchers claim that because of the magnetic field around it, the M87 black hole, also known as M87*, is capable of launching powerful material jets into space.
A new perspective on the gigantic object at the center of our galaxy has been acquired by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration. In 2022, the first image of our Milky Way black hole was released because to this collaboration. The object appears in polarized light in the image. This is the first time polarization, a magnetic field signature, has been measured this near to the border of Sagittarius A* by astronomers. The polarized view of the Milky Way black hole is displayed in this image. The lines superimposed on this picture indicate the polarization orientation, which is connected to the magnetic field around the black hole’s shadow.
Astronomers revealed on Wednesday that they have discovered a strong and ordered magnetic field coiled in a spiral pattern around the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole, revealing previously unrecognized properties of the enormously powerful entity at the center of our galaxy.Researchers have discovered that the magnetic field surrounding the Sagittarius A* black hole, similar to that surrounding Messier 87, is powerful. This suggests that black holes have powerful magnetic fields, potentially allowing them to launch massive jets of material into space. The researchers are excited about the possibility of observing such jets in the future.
The researchers revealed a new photograph of the surroundings around Sgr A* in polarized light for the first time, revealing the magnetic field structure. Polarized light is caused by electrons gyrating along magnetic field lines. Sgr A* has 4 million times the mass of our sun and is approximately 26,000 light-years away from Earth, or 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion kilometers).
“We’ve thought for a long time that magnetic fields are important for how black holes take in matter and release it in intense jets,” Center for Astrophysics astronomer Sara Issaoun said. – Harvard & Smithsonian, co-leader of the study. “This unique image, along with a very comparable polarization structure seen in the much larger and stronger M87* black hole, shows that strong and organized magnetic fields are critical to how black holes interact with gases and matter around them,” he said.
Black holes are immensely dense objects with gravity so powerful that even light cannot escape, making observing them extremely difficult.Astronomer Angelo Ricarte explains that the black hole’s spiral magnetic field pattern allows it to fuel efficient jets that travel into the galaxy.
Event Horizon Telescope’s Latest Black Hole Image
• Taken by international scientific partnership EHT.
• Investigates radio emissions associated with black holes.
• Event horizon of a black hole: point beyond which everything is oblivion.
The strength and structure of the magnetic fields that weave through the flow of gas and matter that black holes eject and feed on can be directly inferred,Issaoun’s research on polarized light from hot glowing gas near black holes provides valuable insights into astrophysics, gas properties, and black hole feeding mechanisms.
Researchers are examining the M87 black hole, which has a mass 6 billion times that of our sun, and its ejecting of a powerful jet of plasma visible at all wavelengths. They are excited about the prediction of a powerful jet and hope to tease it out of the data with improved instrumentation.
