The giant black hole M87 begins to reveal its secrets

A postcard from a distance … first revealed by astronomers Black hole, In the eyes of the world, was able to capture the image of a rotating magnetic field near its edge, an important step in understanding these mysterious cosmic monsters.

Also read:The first image of the black hole: Understand all about this historical event

On April 10, 2019, the giant black hole in the heart of the Messier 87 galaxy (M87), 55 million light-years away, appeared to us as a dark circle in the center of a burning halo. Historical filmProduced by the Horizon Telescope (EHD), an international collaboration event that connects eight telescopes around the world, black holes are the most direct evidence of the existence of very large and compact objects, none of which have escaped, not even light. Two years later, after careful consideration of the data collected in 2017, EHD scientists will learn more about the dynamics of the animal, which is billions of times the mass of the Sun. Their works will be released on Wednesday Letters from the Journal of Astronomy.

As light passes through a filter that helps to isolate a portion of the radiation, we find a new image of the object in polarized light. “The polarity of light contains information that allows us to better understand the physics behind the image seen in April 2019, which was not possible before. This is an important step. “ Underlined by Evan Mardi-Vidal, co-ordinator of one of EHD’s working groups and a researcher at the University of Valencia (Spain). “We really care what theoretical models predict, which is incredibly satisfying!”, Greeted AFP Frederick Quetta, Deputy Director of Millimeter Radio Astronomy (IRAM), which is part of the 30 meter telescope EHD network in Spanish Sierra Nevada.

Powerful light jets

The polarization revealed the structure of the magnetic field located at the edge of the black hole and was able to create an accurate image of its shape, similar to the spiral of fibers. This very powerful magnetic field – greater than that around the Earth – resists the gravitational pull of the black hole: “There is a kind of balance between the two forces, like a fight, even if it is ultimately the force of gravity.”, The astronomer explains. “The magnetic field at the edge of the black hole is strong enough to repel hot gas and resist gravity.” Details Jason Dexter, from the University of Colorado in Boulder, USA.

Once swallowed, nothing comes out of the black hole (“accumulated”). But the cosmic okra, no matter how powerful, does not swallow it “100% of everything in its environment: part of it escapes”, This researcher was commissioned by CNRS. That portion of the captured material – about 10% – is ejected, and the magnetic field plays a key role in this mechanism. “Following a path in the paths of the material field”, Continues Frederick Kuth. Magnetic force not only separates matter but also emits powerful jets of light beyond the galaxy at enormous speeds lasting at least 5,000 light years.

These power jets come from the center of the M87 “One of the most mysterious events in this galaxy”, According to ESO (European Southern Laboratory). It is believed that the interaction of forces detected by the EHT will work in all black holes, from the smallest to the supermassive that lurks at the center of most galaxies, including the Milky Way. No information emerges from the black holes and they can never be directly observed. “What’s going on inside is a mystery. So the challenge is to understand as much as possible what’s going on around it, because it’s necessarily connected.”, Concludes the researcher. The annual simultaneous monitoring session of the EHD network, which fell into the water last spring due to the Govt-19 epidemic, is expected to resume by the end of April. In the Hots-Alps, the addition of new telescopes, including the NOEMA laboratory in Iram, will make it possible to further improve the accuracy of the images obtained.