In 2019, scientists made a groundbreaking announcement with the release of the first-ever images of a black hole, specifically the supermassive black hole known as M87*. This historic achievement sparked a surge of new investigations aimed at understanding the complex workings, growth patterns, and transformations of black holes. Recently, after significant upgrades, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) network has returned with more astonishing findings centered around M87*, presenting tantalizing evidence of previously unknown physics occurring at the event horizon of this enigmatic black hole.
Between 2017 and 2021, the EHT captured a series of images revealing unexpected phenomena, including a complete reversal in the black hole’s magnetic fields, indicating a shift in its polarization. Additionally, scientists detected strange jets emanating from M87*, providing researchers with their most detailed view of the black hole to date. These groundbreaking findings are expected to be detailed in an upcoming paper in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Mariafelicia De Laurentis, co-author of the study and an astronomer at the University of Naples Federico II in Italy, stated, “These results show how the EHT is evolving into a fully fledged scientific observatory, capable not only of delivering unprecedented images but also of building a progressive and coherent understanding of black hole physics.”
M87* is a supermassive black hole located at the center of the galaxy M87, approximately 55 million light-years from Earth. This colossal entity is estimated to possess more than six billion times the mass of our Sun. With such immense gravitational influence, M87* significantly affects its surrounding environment, as evidenced by the bright ring of orange plasma captured in the EHT images.
However, astronomers were taken aback by the stark changes observed in the direction of the plasma spiral around M87*, formally known as its polarization pattern. This indicates that the region surrounding the black hole is an “evolving, turbulent environment” where magnetic fields play a crucial role in determining how matter falls into the black hole and how energy is expelled outward.
Paul Tiede, co-lead author of the study and an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard & Smithsonian, remarked, “What’s remarkable is that while the ring size has remained consistent over the years—confirming the black hole’s shadow predicted by Einstein’s theory—the polarization pattern changes significantly.” This observation suggests that the magnetized plasma swirling near the event horizon is anything but static; it is dynamic and complex, stretching the limits of our theoretical models.
The observations indicated that the polarization pattern at M87* flipped direction in 2017, only to spiral back in the opposite direction by 2021. Jongho Park, another co-author of the paper and an astronomer at Kyunghee University in South Korea, stated, “It challenges our models and shows there’s much we still don’t understand near the event horizon.” The field of black hole physics remains fraught with unanswered questions and mysteries, and every hint we receive propels our understanding forward.
Supermassive black holes like M87* play a crucial role in galaxy formation and star creation, acting as a vital component in the cosmic ecosystem. The powerful jets emitted by these immense black holes serve as a “unique laboratory” for astrophysicists studying gamma rays and high-energy neutrinos, providing invaluable insights into the role of black holes in cosmic evolution.
As researchers continue to unravel the complexities surrounding M87*, these findings promise to deepen our understanding of the universe and the fundamental principles governing black hole physics.
