This is the most detailed picture of a black hole to date



It may have taken ages to capture the first real image of a black hole, but it took a few years to follow-up. This New York Times Event Horizon Telescope researchers have reportedly published the most detailed image of a black hole ever. An updated snapshot of the hole of the Messier g 87 galaxy shows it for the first time in polarized light, showing how magnetic fields (indicated by the lines you see here) behave at the very edge of a cosmic phenomenon.

The new visuals indicate that these fields are powerful enough to provide resistance to highly magnetic gases on the event horizon, and to help some gases escape gravity from being crushed in the hole itself. Jason Dexter of the University of Colorado said gas leaks from those areas to get into the hole. The hypothesis also suggests that the jet derives its power from the rotational energy of the black hole, says fellow event Horizon contributor Michael Johnson.

The data also allows scientists to speculate that black holes are a relatively modest diet – the only “part” of the Sun’s mass each year.

You should see more insights into the future. While EHT’s combination of worldwide telescopes is limited, a future version should be able to produce videos with full development of magnetic activity. It should show how magnetic fields emit energy from black holes and demycite any of the unknown objects in the universe.