The first image of a black hole just became more interesting.
In the center of the galaxy Messier 87 (M87) is a huge black hole about 38 billion kilometers wide, a behemoth so dense that not even light can escape its gravitational pull.
By observing a polarized light around the M87, scientists working with, an international collaboration of researchers, were able to make the image. It shows a pattern similar to the spinning of the magnetic fields of the black hole, the first image of its kind.
The light comes from the overheated gas trapped on the event horizon of the black hole, where it does not return from which even light cannot escape. It took 55 million light-years to reach Earth.
The image can bring the light into the center of the black hole, like water moving down a drain, but that is not true.
What it really shows is magnetic field lines, Erin MacDonald said in an interview. Macdonald holds a doctorate in astronomy and is a recent science consultant for Star Trek productions.
Magnetic fields
Unsure? Think polarized sunglasses. They use a filter similar to window blinds that allows light waves traveling in a certain direction to pass through.
“Light is a real electromagnetic wave, and electromagnetic waves are shaped like a cross or an X,” said Macdonald, passing over his arms directly. “When you get light from the sun , that is natural light, and that goes in all directions. When you use polarized sunglasses, it filters all shapes of light in front of where your filters are. [oriented]. “
Filtering the light allowed scientists to see the electromagnetic radiation align itself with the magnetic field layers of the black hole.
Macdonald compared the use of a magnet to the handling of iron films. When iron is present in a magnetic field, it aligns itself according to field layers, showing the invisible effect. In the case of the M87 black hole, simply replace the iron with a light.
“By seeing how the magnetic field is structured, we can see how strong it is and we can then start digging out more information about that black hole,” Macdonald said. We have good models using Einstein’s general relevance for what a black hole structure should look like, and getting this level of detail and information allows us to compare those models that are we have. “
More to come?
The original image of the black hole released in 2019 was created using a network of eight telescopes across the globe. They started recording the data for it in 2017.
Those data have been linked together in an image that, while a bit blurry, is still impressive considering the long distance.
This new polarized image is the first additional piece of information that came out of this view, about two years after the original image. The data collected in these comments is overwhelming, and although Macdonald is not involved in the project, she would not be surprised if more information came out in the future.
“I can only imagine that there is more data as people continue to study and compile, and find new ways of presenting it,” she said.