An international team of scientists has observed the inner ring of dust around a supermassive black hole for the first time. It
The researchers used the CHARA interferometerArray at Mount Wilson Observatory. It is an array of six telescopes with a mirror 1 m in diameter. They are located at a great distance and combined into a single structure to achieve maximum spatial resolution in the infrared range.
With the help of the CHARA Array, astrophysicists have been able toconsider a dust ring located at right angles to the emerging jet at the center of the Eye of Sauron galaxy (NGC 4151). It is located in the constellation Canes Venatici, 52 million light-years from Earth.
Observations of the dust disk around the jet. Image: Georgia State University
It is believed that a supermassive black holeexists at the center of every large galaxy. As the material in the surrounding area is pulled towards the center, the gas forms a hot and bright disk-like structure. In some cases, a jet emerges from the vicinity of the black hole, directed at right angles to the disk. However, this flat structure, which is the "engine" of supermassive black holes, has never been seen directly because it is too small to be captured in conventional telescopes.
Additional research has shown that in addition toof a flat ring around the jet, there is an outer region extended along the jet. Scientists believe that this suggests that the dusty wind is blowing in the direction of the jet. They hope that the analysis of detailed images will help to investigate the physics of black holes, relativistic jets and their influence on the evolution of galaxies.
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On the cover: the Eye of Sauron galaxy. Image: NASA, ESA, Joseph DePasquale