Astronomers first capture magnetic fields at the edge of M87 black hole

On April 10, 2019, scientists published the first image of a black hole, which revealed a bright ring

structure with a dark central region -"shadow" of a black hole. Since then, the EHT collaboration has taken a deeper look at data collected in 2017 about the supermassive object at the heart of the M87 galaxy. They found that much of the light around the M87 black hole is polarized.

Scientists have been able to measure polarization for the first time,the signature of the magnetic fields so close to the edge of the M87h black hole The observations are key to explaining how the galaxy M87, 55 million light-years from Earth, could launch energetic jets from its core. Details of the study are reported by the European Space Observatory (ESO).

Light becomes polarized as it passesthrough certain filters (such as the lenses of polarized sunglasses) or when it is emitted in hot regions of space where magnetic fields are present. In the same way that special glasses help the eyes work by reducing reflections and glare from bright surfaces, astronomers can improve their view of the area around a black hole by looking at how the light emanating from it is polarized. In particular, polarization allows astronomers to map the magnetic field lines present at the inner edge of a black hole.

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