International Astronomer Group, including the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (EHT), first received unprecedented images of a black hole in the Galaxy M87 and its environs in the entire range of electromagnetic wave spectrum. The results of the observation presented in the article in the Astrophysical Journal Letters magazine will help to figure out the mechanisms for the occurrence of cosmic rays, high-energy light radiation and relativistic jets.
When the substance is absorbed by the supermassive black hole, the plasma jets (Jeta) arise, which reach the trumpet velocity and emit radiation covering the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to visible light and gamma rays. For each black hole, a special radiation pattern is characterized, according to which the source properties can be defined, for example, the speed of rotation and the amount of energy released. At the same time, the pattern changes with time, so coordinated actions of many observers are needed.
data were collected by a team of 760 scientists and engineers from nearly 200 institutions from 32 countries. Observations were conducted from the end of March to mid-April 2017. Each astronomical instrument, used in the study, provided its own information on the properties of the black hole in the center of M87, which is about 55 million light years from the Earth.
It turned out that the intensity of the light emitted by the substance around the supermassive black hole was the lowest of ever observed, which created the ideal conditions for observing the shadow of the black hole. It also made it possible to observe radiation of various wavelengths both in the vicinity of the object and at a distance of tens of thousands of light years.
Scientists plan to use the data obtained to improve the inspections of the general theory of Einstein’s relativity. Currently, these inspections are difficult due to the fact that it is unknown, as the properties of the substance absorbed by the black hole, determine the final radiation. So, as long as scientists do not know the exact cause of the formation of cosmic rays, although it is assumed that their source is supermassive black holes. According to the results obtained, the cosmic rays themselves do not arise near the horizon of events, otherwise they would give rise to gamma rays in this place, which is not observed.
Currently, the EHT collaboration continues to observe the black holes in the M87 and in the Milky Way, adding three new radio telescope to existing tools: the Greenland telescope, 12-meter Kitt-Peak Telescope in Arizona and Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) in France .