Secrets of Black Hole in M87 Revealed in New Images

The black hole in M87, seen in a new examination of historic images from 2019, reveals secrets of these behemoth enigmas.

The supermassive black hole in M87 is seen in stunning detail in a new image developed from data obtained by ALMA and the EHT radio telescopes. Image credit: EHT Collaboration

In the nearly galaxy M87, more than 50 million light years from Earth, a supermassive black hole feeds on vast clouds of gas and dust. Jets, more than 5,000 light years long, erupt from this enigmatic body six billion times more massive than the Sun.

In 2019, the first detailed images ever recorded of the region around a black hole were released, showing a bright ring-like structure surrounding a dark void.

A new study of this data uncovered secrets of the magnetic fields of black holes, showing the region around the supermassive black hole in M87 in unprecedented detail.

These images, taken in radio frequencies with the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, might also explain the mechanism driving the massive jets seen erupting from this supermassive black hole.

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