A cosmic silence broke with an unexpected revelation. The supermassive black hole M87*, the same as In 2019 he starred in the first photograph of one of these objects, He challenged science again.
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In just four years, The colossus turned his magnetic field as if he had invested his own rules. The finding leaves astronomers perplexed. No theoretical model had anticipated a change of such magnitude and in such a short time.
The behavior of this giant, which It weighs 6,500 million times more than the sun and hides in the heart of the M87 galaxy 55 million light years, It seems to go beyond the provisions of current physics.
M87 particle jets influence the evolution of their galaxy. Photo:stock
A turn that contradicts the theory
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The key is in the polarized light, the one that keeps the footprint of the magnetic fields. When comparing the data collected by the ‘Event Horizon Telescope’ (EHT) between 2017 and 2021, scientists discovered a disturbing pattern: What flowed before in one direction ended up turning to the opposite side.
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“This calls for our models and shows that There is still much that we do not know about the horizon of events ”, Jongho Park acknowledged from the Kyunghee University of South Korea.
The size of the observed ring remained constant, as predicts Einstein’s relativity, but Polarization changed radically. A paradox that reveals the turbulent and dynamic of plasma that surrounds the hole.
The polarization of the light revealed changes never seen before in a black hole. Photo:NASA Illustration, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STSCI).
The jet that marks the galaxy
Not only was the magnetic change detected. For the first time, the EHT managed to capture signals from the base of the Set of particles that sprout from M87*. That beam, capable of traveling thousands of light years, travels almost at the speed of light and is believed to influence the evolution of galaxies.
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“The jets like M87 regulate the formation of stars and distribute energy to large distances, affecting the life cycle of matter at cosmic scale,” Eduardo Ros explained, from the Max Planck Institute of Radioastronomy. The finding allows directly relating the magnetic fields of the hole to the formation of structures that shape the universe.
The telescope that looks at the abyss
The advance was possible thanks to the expansion of Event Horizon Telescope, which in 2021 added observatories such as the Kitt Peak in Arizona and Noma in France. These new cosmic eyes allowed to capture more subtle signals and raise the resolution of the images.
“The EHT is ceasing to be an experiment to become a full -fledged observatory,” said Mariafelicia de Laurentis, a member of the project. With each technological improvement, The possibilities of deciphering the extreme behavior of M87* multiply.
The M87 black hole, 55 million light years, challenges physics again. Photo:stock
The future is ambitious: astronomers want not only to freeze moments, but to build a kind of film that Show the sway of plasma and magnetic dance of the black hole. The questions abound, the certainties are few, and yet, the mystery seems to be the engine that pushes to look back towards that abyss.
M87* had already been historic for showing the world in an image. Now, he reminds humanity again that Secrets still hide in the heart of the cosmos that can change the way we understand the gravity, matter and the evolution of galaxies.
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María Paula Lozano
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