The stunning image was achieved thanks to the international Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) initiative which brought together a total of eight telescopes from around the world.
Astronomers who obtained the first image of a black hole have managed to capture the light of its magnetic fields, an important step to better understand the dynamics of these cosmic phenomena, according to a study published on Wednesday.
On April 10, 2019, the image went around the world: it was a dark circle in the middle of a bright disk, corresponding to a supermassive black hole located in the center of the galaxy Messier 87 (M87), located 55 million light years from Earth.
Obtained thanks to the international Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) initiative that brought together a total of eight telescopes in the world, the image was the most direct proof of the existence of these phenomena so massive and compact that they absorb everything, including light.
Two years later, EHT scientists know more about the mechanics of this black hole, whose mass is several billion times greater than that of the Sun.
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Illustrative and non-commercial image / https://twitter.com/almaobs/status/1374728492697452544
In an article published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, they released a new image of the object under polarized light – as if through a filter – and which allows “a better understanding of the physics behind the image in April 2019,” said the Spaniard Iván Martí-Vidal, coordinator of the EHT working groups and researcher at the University of Valencia.
“I noticed the reality of what the theoretical models predicted, it’s incredibly satisfying!”
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The polarization highlighted the structure of the magnetic field located at the edges of the black hole and made it possible to produce an accurate image of its shape, similar to a vortex of filaments.
This extremely strong magnetic field resists the gravitational force of the black hole: “There is a kind of balance between the two forces, as if it were a fight, although in the end gravity wins,” Gueth told AFP.
“The magnetic field at the edge of the black hole is strong enough to push back the hot gas and help it withstand gravitational force,” said Jason Dexter of the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA.
Although there is no matter capable of leaving the black hole once it has been swallowed, the cosmic object does not swallow “100% of everything in its environment: part of it escapes,” according to Gueth.
The magnetic force would allow not only the extraction of matter, but also the expulsion of very strong beams at immense speeds, capable of traveling thousands of light years.
These energy beams come from the core of M87 and are one of the “most mysterious phenomena in this galaxy”, according to the Southern European Observatory (ESO).
The interaction of forces revealed by EHT would also exist in all black holes, from the smallest to the supermassive, present in most galaxies, including the Milky Way.
Because no “information” comes out of black holes, science will never be able to observe it directly. “What is happening inside will remain a mystery. The key is to understand what is happening around us, because it is necessarily connected “, concludes Gheth.
The annual simultaneous observation session of the EHT network, canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, will resume at the end of April. The incorporation of new telescopes, including the NOEMA observatory in France, will improve the accuracy of the images obtained.