The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration has published new results that describe for the first time how light from the edge of the supermassive black hole M87* spirals as it escapes the black hole’s intense gravity, a signature known as circular polarization.
Baseline #13 – Sagittarius A*: Monster in the Milky Way
In the center of the Milky Way there is a black hole more massive than 4 million Suns. It’s known as Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A*, and it’s hidden behind the dust of our galactic center. So how can astronomers see it?
2021 Science Highlights: Looking Back on a Turbulent Year in Radio Astronomy
The formation of massive stars and planets. The deaths of stars and galaxies. The extreme and violent behaviors of black hole jets and quasars. An up-close and personal radar view of the Moon. These mysteries and more were unraveled in 2021 by radio astronomers leveraging the scientific and technological power of National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) facilities.
VLA Reveals Double-Helix Structure in Massive Galaxy’s Jet
Astronomers used the VLA to trace a corkscrew-shaped magnetic field in a powerful jet of material ejected from the core of a massive galaxy farther away from the central galaxy’s central black hole than ever seen before. The new images provide clues that will help understand the mechanics of such jets, which are seen throughout the Universe.
VIDEO: Multi-wavelength Observations Reveal Impact of Black Hole on M87 Galaxy
New multi-wavelength observations mounted by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration across the entire electromagnetic spectrum have provided new insight into the impact of the black hole at the core of galaxy M87 on its immediate, and not so immediate, surroundings.
New Images Reveal Magnetic Structures Near Supermassive Black Hole
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) — the worldwide collaboration that produced the first image of a black hole in 2019 — has produced a new image showing details of the magnetic fields in the region closest to the supermassive black hole at the core of the galaxy M87. The new work is providing astronomers with important clues about how powerful jets of material can be produced in that region.