How Magnetic Fields Affect Black Hole Images | Event Horizon Telescope

Black holes are enveloped in plasma. This plasma has magnetic fields—areas where magnetism affects how matter moves—threaded throughout. As the magnetic field grows stronger, it changes shape and the polarized light we measure exhibits different patterns.

Today, we reveal a breakthrough discovery: the polarized light waves we measure indicate the black hole M87* has strong magnetic fields. This magnetic field strength has a powerful influence on how objects orbit the black hole and on the formation of black hole jets, which is one of the greatest mysteries in modern astronomy.

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is an international collaboration that captured the first image of a black hole by creating a virtual Earth-sized telescope. To learn more, you can check out our website at https://eventhorizontelescope.org/​.

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Credit:
Producer: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Director: Nicholas Conroy
Writers: Nicholas Conroy and Angelo Ricarte
Editors: Angelo Ricarte, Daniel Palumbo, SAO EHT Group, Polarimetry Working Group, and Outreach Working Group
Black Hole Simulations: Ramesh Narayan and Daniel Palumbo
Black Hole Image: EHT Collaboration
Narrator: Christopher Gaal
Animation: Crazybridge Studios
Animation Director: Christopher Gaal
3D Animator: Scott Bell

Видео How Magnetic Fields Affect Black Hole Images | Event Horizon Telescope канала ehtelescope