ENGINEERINGNET.BE – Previous examination of the light around the black hole in M87 showed that the surrounding magnetic fields allowed this black hole to shoot powerful jets of matter back into space. The new images show that the same may also apply to Sagittarius A*.
“We see that strong, entangled and organized magnetic fields are present in the vicinity of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way,” says Sara Issaoun of EHT. ‘These types of fields are crucial for the way black holes interact with the gas and matter in their environment.’
“By imaging polarized light from glowing hot gas near black holes, we can infer the structure and strength of the magnetic fields that accompany the flow of gas and matter that feeds and ejects the black hole,” says project coordinator Angelo Ricarte .
To observe Sagittarius A*, the EHT collaboration connected eight telescopes around the world to create an imaginary telescope the size of the Earth.
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, and the ESO-hosted Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), both in northern Chile, were part of the network that made the observations performed in 2017.
“As the EHT’s largest and most powerful telescope, ALMA played a key role in capturing this image,” said María Díaz Trigo, European ALMA program scientist at ESO.
‘ALMA will soon undergo an ‘extreme makeover’, the Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade, which will make it even more sensitive and will continue to play a fundamental role in future EHT observations of Sagittarius A* and other black holes.’
The EHT has made several observations since 2017 and will observe Sagittarius A* again in April 2024. As new telescopes are added, bandwidth is increased, and new observation frequencies are added, the images will only get better.
Planned expansions over the next decade will allow high-fidelity movies of this black hole to be made, showing its hidden jet, and will allow astronomers to observe similar polarization signatures in other black holes.
In the meantime, if the EHT can be extended into space, it would provide images of black holes that are sharper than ever before.
2024-03-29 12:46:13
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