New Image of the Black Hole in Galaxy M87 Captured by Astronomers

Attention space enthusiasts: a fresh photograph of the remarkable black hole at the heart of galaxy M87 has just been unveiled.

The updated image resembles the previous one that made headlines in 2019. Nevertheless, the major distinguishing feature is a slight counterclockwise rotation (about 30 degrees) of the black hole's brightest point. Researchers, who published their findings in Astronomy & Astrophysics on January 18, attribute this rotation to matter swirling in the black hole's accretion disk as it gets devoured.

Other features, however, remain consistent. The bright halo and the shadow of the black hole look almost identical in size to the previous images. According to astrophysicist Lia Medeiros from Princeton University, these repeated images affirm that M87's black hole is in accordance with the type predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity, rather than a different, more exotic version.

Medeiros emphasizes the importance of replicating studies and experiments in science to ensure the results are accurate and not an illusion. "Replication helps you ascertain that you're not being deceived and that your results can be reproduced," she says.

Medeiros is a part of an international group named the Event Horizon Telescope, or EHT. This group utilizes a global network of radio telescopes to focus on the heart of M87 which is situated about 55 million light-years away from Earth. Every image from EHT till date, comprising those of the enormous black hole in the epicenter of our own galaxy, leveraged data gathered in 2017 or earlier. However, the newly presented photo is the first one to use observations from 2018.

In the period between the images, the EHT team expanded their collection by incorporating the Greenland Telescope in northwestern Greenland. As their method - interferometry - improves with each new facility, the latest image divulges previously unseen details about M87's colossal black hole. The researchers plan to delve deeper into these details in the future.

Images taken from data in the years after 2018 will further our understanding of the intricate interplay between the black hole's magnetic field and the surrounding plasma.