3,000-light-year-long jet offers new clues to first black hole ever imaged
Astronomers have traced the origin point of a jet of material that is thousands of light-years long emanating from the supermassive black hole M87*
The galaxy Messier 87 (M87) and a 3,000-light-year-long jet of plasma blasting from its central black hole.
NASA/ESA/STScI/Alec Lessing/Stanford University/Michael Shara/AMNH (image); Edward Baltz/Stanford University (acknowledgment); Joseph DePasquale/STScI (image processing)
Located at the center of the galaxy Messier 87 (M87), the supermassive black hole M87* holds a special place in the science history books: it’s the first black hole ever imaged and is the origin of what NASA has called “one of nature’s most amazing phenomena.” That’s because the black hole is spewing out a gigantic jet of material that is blazing a 3,000-light-year-long trail through the cosmos.
M87* is both a messy and greedy eater: as dust and gas falls toward it, the black hole shoots out powerful jets of charged particles. But astronomers didn’t exactly know where these jets originated—until now. In new research published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, scientists lay out evidence of what they believe are the “first hints” of M87*’s jet base.
Using observations from the Event Horizon Telescope, the team examined the glowing ring of superhot material around M87* and identified what they believe is the “probable position” of the extremely long jet’s origin.
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The first image of the black hole at the center of the galaxy M87. The image was released April 2019.
Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration
The results could inform future studies of M87*’s superlative jet and the mechanics of similar supermassive black holes.
“This study represents an early step toward connecting theoretical ideas about jet launching with direct observations,” said the paper’s lead author Saurabh, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, in a statement.
“Identifying where the jet may originate and how it connects to the black hole’s shadow, adds a key piece to the puzzle and points toward a better understanding of how the central engine operates,” he said.
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