M87s Central Black Hole in Polarized Light
Explanation:
To play on
Carl SaganБs
famous words
"If you wish to make black hole jets, you must first create magnetic fields."
The featured image represents the
detected intrinsic spin direction
(polarization) of
radio waves.
The polarizationi is produced by the powerful
magnetic field
surrounding the supermassive black hole at the center of
elliptical galaxy
M87.
The radio waves were detected by the
Event Horizon Telescope (EHT),
which combines data from radio telescopes distributed
worldwide.
The
polarization structure, mapped using computer generated
flow lines,
is overlaid on
EHTБs
famous black hole image, first published in 2019.
The full 3-D magnetic field is
complex.
Preliminary
analyses indicate that parts of the field circle around the
black hole along with the
accreting matter, as expected.
However,
another
component seemingly veers vertically away from the black hole.
This component could explain how matter resists falling in and is instead launched
into
M87Бs jet.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
