The first black hole we have ever seen is doing something never seen

Images captured over the time of the most photogenic black hole in the universe reveal strange and exciting changes in its magnetic field.

In 2022, astronomers presented to the world that of M87*the supermation black hole in the center of the Milky Way. In 2024 it followed the revelation of a new “monster” in the heart of our galaxy.

In a new study, a team of scientists now used observations obtained through the Event Horizon Telescope in 2017, 2018 and 2021, to map Changes in magnetic field polarization of M87*, suggesting that although the black hole itself is stable, there are cosmic weather conditions Wild and Dynamics to draw outside your event horizon.

In fact, between 2017 and 2021, the magnetic field reversed completely the direction – The first time that such change was observed in the environment around a black hole.

The results, which were presented in a published in the Astronomy & Astrophysicsthey can help us understand how these cosmic colossos feed and What feeds the extreme jets that launch into the intergalactic space.

M87* is a supermassive black hole In a galaxy located 55 million light years away, with a mass about 6.5 billion times higher than the mass of the sun.

Having been the first object of the mission of collaboration Event Horizon whose mission was to photograph a supermassive black hole, the object became one of the supermassive black holes more studied in the whole universe.

Since the first iconic image was released, the collaboration continued to observe M87*, collecting data over the years to follow any Changes in the mass of hot material to boil around the edge of the black hole. This includes the best observations to the date of the place where the jets are released from the poles of an active black hole.

“Jets like M87 play a key role in the modeling of the evolution of their host galaxies,” explains the astronomer Eduardo Rosresearcher at the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy, Germany, quoted by.

“By regulating star formation and distributing energy through vast distances, affect the life cycle of matter in cosmic scales“The astronomer adds.

It is thought that the magnetic field of a black hole plays a key role in the creation of its jets. As the material runs close to a black hole, It is organized on a disk around Ecuador. However, not all the material on the interior of the disc ends up crossing the horizon of eventsnever to be seen again.

Algum of this material is diverted Along the lines of the magnetic field surrounding the black hole event horizon: it is accelerated to the poles, from where it is thrown into space at vertiginly high speeds, approaching the speed of light in the vacuum.

These jets pierce the space Up to millions of light years.

To help understand how these jets can form in the crazy environment near a black hole, the collaboration of the Event Horizon telescope captured A series of M87 images* over multiple years and studied them carefully to map the changes in the material around the black hole.

The polarization of light was a particular focus. When light travels through a strongly magnetized environment, the guidance of your waves can become organized and aligned. Although the images of M87* do not seem to change much over time, once overlapping polarization data appears Very dramatic variations.

In 2017, the magnetic fields seemed to form a spiral towards the clock pointers. In 2018, changed to the opposite direction to the clock pointers and seemed to stabilize. In 2021, they seemed to form a spiral in the opposite direction to the clock pointers.

These results suggest that the magnetic fields around M87* change significantlyand in very short cosmic temporal scales, while The black hole itself remains the same.

“What is remarkable is that although the size of the ring has remained consistent over the years-confirming the shadow of the black hole provided for by Einstein’s theory-the polarization pattern changes significantly,” says the astronomer Paul sciencefrom the Harvard & Smithsonian Center of Astrophysics, in.

“This tells us that the magnetized plasma that runs close to the horizon of events It is far from static; It is dynamic and complexbringing our theoretical models to the limit, ”he adds.

The new results reveal a dynamic, turbulent environment and constantly changing, showing how the wild magnetic fields of a supermassive black hole help direct the flow of material – some beyond the event horizon, and another throwing into space in the form of giant jets.

Future observations will develop these findings, offering a deeper perception of the fascinating magnetic environment of M87*.