Research Highlights
The Wobbling Shadow of the M87* Black Hole
This animation presents about three years in the life of M87*, as predicted by numerical simulations. It shows the expected appearance and dynamics of the supermassive black hole as observed by the EHT. You can see turbulent gas heated to billions of degrees swirling around the event horizon, before finally plunging into the black hole. A sharp bright ring surrounding the black hole shadow is an effect of extremely strong lensing near the so-called photon shell.
The blurred portion of the animation corresponds to the effective resolution of the EHT. The dashed black ring measures 42 microarcseconds in diameter. The clock hand indicates the position of the bright side of the fitted crescent. We expect that the bright side should be most of the time located in the bottom of the image, where the velocity of the rotating gas is pointed in the observer’s direction. However, because of the turbulence, the fitted position angle varies quite a bit - the crescent wobbles. By studying the time-variability of the M87* image with the EHT, we can learn about the physics of matter in an extreme environment very near the event horizon, and understand the relations between the black hole and the accretion flow surrounding it.
Media echo
English
EHT data show turbulence makes the glowing ring around M87’s black hole wobble, Maria Temming, Science News, 23 September 2020
Famous for the first-ever image of a black hole, M87* is now revealing how it changes over time
Surprise! The ring around M87 galaxy's monster black hole wobbles over time, Mike Wall, Space.com, 23 September 2020
The Event Horizon Telescope team is learning about the huge black hole's behavior over the past decade.
History-making black hole seen to do a shimmy, Jonathan Amos, BBC, 23 September 2020, quoting Anton Zensus
When scientists presented the first ever picture of a black hole last year, it was hailed as an extraordinary breakthrough.
Well, now they've reassessed some of the image data that was acquired in the years running up to that historic snapshot. And it gives us some fresh perspectives on the object known as M87*, which has the monster mass of 6.5 billion Suns. One insight is recognising the black hole's brightness flickers over time.
Last year, astronomers revealed a stunning image showing a ring of matter swirling around a supermassive black hole, and a dark hole in the ring representing the black hole’s “shadow.” That iconic image of the black hole represents a week of observations taken in 2017 by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), an array of eight telescopes spread across the world, linked together to increase their resolving power. A team of astronomers tackled this hefty project, and found two important things: The size of the ring and the “shadow” didn’t change, but the brightness of the ring did. Not only that, where it was brightest changed, too, and it’s not clear why.
The M 87 black hole, the first body of its type ever photographed by astronomers at the Event Horizon Telescope, shows an unusual glitter…
"If you want to see a black hole evolve over a decade, there is no substitute for having a decade of data."
This weirdly wobbling black hole upends our theories of the universe, Chris Davies, Slash Gear, 23 September 2020
Last year, for the first time, the world gazed in collective wonder at an actual direct image of a black hole's shadow. Now, looking back at earlier, more rudimentary images, scientists have found evidence that the ring around M87* has a wobble that makes it look as though it's glittering.
German
Jahrhundertentdeckung M87* - Ring um Schwarzes Riesen-Loch wackelt, Mitteldeutsches Rundfunk, 23 September 2020, quoting Anton Zensus
Das riesige Schwarze Loch M87*, dessen Bild 2019 eine der großen astronomischen Sensationen war, hält immer neue Überraschungen parat. Nun haben Forscher unter Bonner Federführung herausgefunden, dass sein Ring offenbar hin- und herwackelt.
Himmlisches Flackern, Johanes Grolle, Der Spiegel, 23 September 2020, quoting Thomas Krichbaum and Anton Zensus
Ein kreisrunder Schatten, umschlossen von einem lodernden Ring: Vor anderthalb Jahren sorgte das erste Foto eines schwarzen Loches für Furore. Jetzt legen die Radioastronomen mit neuen Details nach.
Das Schwarze Loch in der Galaxie Messier 87 ist die Ruhe selbst – doch drumherum tut sich was, Neue Züricher Zeitung, Christian Speicher, 23 September 2020, quoting Eduardo Ros
Vor einem Jahr gelang Astronomen zum ersten Mal ein Schnappschuss eines Schwarzen Lochs. Ein Vergleich mit älteren Beobachtungen zeigt nun, wie turbulent es in dessen Umgebung zugeht.
Ring um Schwarzes Loch funkelt, Tagesspiegel, Ralf Nestler, 23 September 2020, quoting Thomas Krichbaum and Anton Zensus and MPIfR alumni Matthias Kadler and Reinhard Genzel
Der funkelnde Ring um das Schwarze Loch in Messier 87, Spektrum der Wissenschaft, Andreas Müller, 23 September 2020, quoting Thomas Krichbaum
Event Horizon Telescope: Das Schwarze Loch von M87 funkelt, Martin Holland, heise, 23 September 2020, quoting Thomas Krichbaum
Das Schwarze Loch im Zentrum der Galaxie M87 wurde als erstes direkt abgebildet. Nun haben Forscher aus Archivdaten ermittelt, wie sich das Abbild verändert.
Schwarzes Loch: Ereignishorizont „wackelt“, Nadja Podbregar, ScineXX, 24 September 2020, quoting Anton Zensus
Event Horizon Teleskop zeigt zeitliche Veränderungen am Schwarzen Loch M87*
Schwarze Löcher: Forscher entdecken funkelnden Ring, Constantin Krüger, 24sep2020, quoting Thomas Krichbaum
Das erste Bild vom Schatten des Schwarzen Lochs im Zentrum der Galaxie M 87 war 2019 eine wissenschaftliche Sensation. Jetzt haben sich die Astronomen des Event Horizon Telescope ältere Beobachtungsdaten angesehen. Sie konnten verfolgen, wie sich der helle Ring des Massenmonsters über mehrere Jahre hinweg verändert hat und zu funkeln scheint.
Russian
Коллаборация Телескопа горизонта событий (EHT) опубликовала результаты анализа данных наблюдений за сверхмассивной черной дырой в галактике М87 в течение восьми лет. Ученым удалось подтвердить стабильность диаметра тени, а также увидеть изменения ее яркости, что согласуется с теоретическим предсказаниями. Статья опубликована в журнале The Astrophysical Journal.
Spanish
El primer agujero negro capturado en imagen sufre una evolución turbulenta, El Universal, 23 September 2020
El centro de la galaxia M87 ha revelado una variación de su orientación
El primer agujero negro captado en imagen se tambalea, Europa Press, 23 September 2020
Un análisis de cuatro años de archivos sobre el agujero negro supermasivo en el centro de la galaxia M87, que se logró fotografiar en 2019 en absoluta primicia, ha revelado una evolución turbulenta.
La sombra de M87* se tambalea, y eso sorprende a los científicos, ABC, 23 September 2020
El mismo equipo que hace un año mostró al mundo la primera imagen de un agujero negro ha descubierto que su sombra está «bamboleándose» y ha girado de forma significativa durante los diez últimos años
Nederlaands
Looking sharper, blobs become filaments: RadioAstron Observations of 0836+710
Zoom Image
September 4, 2020
A new study published in the present issue of Astronomy & Astrophysics shows the striking improvement in resolution provided by the space-VLBI mission RadioAstron. The work is based in a study made in the framework of the PhD thesis of Laura Vega-García, performed at the MPI für Radioastronomie. The RadioAstron images reveal a wealth of structural detail in the jet of S5 0836+710 on angular scales ranging from 0.02 mas to 200 mas. Brightness temperatures in excess of 1013 K are measured in the jet, requiring Doppler factors of ≥100 for reconciling them with the inverse Compton limit. Furthermore, several oscillatory patterns are identified in the ridge line of the jet and can be explained in terms of the Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability. For more information, check here.
High-energy neutrinos originate in black-hole powered jets in active galactic nuclei
May 13, 2020
A team of astrophysicists including Yuri Y. Kovalev, affiliated to the MPI für Radioastronomie and Bessel Award of the Alexander von Humboldt foundation, have come close to solving the mystery of where high-energy neutrinos come from in space. The team compared the data on the elusive particles gathered by the Antarctic neutrino observatory IceCube and on long electromagnetic waves measured by radio telescopes. Cosmic neutrinos turned out to be linked to flares at the centers of distant active galaxies, which are believed to host supermassive black holes. As matter falls toward the black hole, some of it is accelerated and ejected into space, giving rise to neutrinos that then coast along through the universe at nearly the speed of light. These results are published in the last issue of The Astrophysical Journal, see the publication here, and a press release from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology here.
Jet shapes in active galactic nuclei dissected: changing from parabolic to conical shape and its physical implications
16 April 2020
A team of astronomers led by Yuri Y. Kovalev from Moscow (Lebedev & MIST), also associated to the MPI für Radioastronomie, has presented a work on ten active galactic nuclei in the close universe (redshift smaller than 0.07) displaying a transition from a parabolic to conical shape. They infer that the geometry transition may be a common effect in AGN jets, and observed only when sufficient linear resolution is obtained. This break occurs at distances of hundred thousand to one million gravitational radii from the nucleus. More in detail, this means that the jet shape transition happens when the bulk plasma kinetic energy flux becomes equal to the Poynting energy flux, while the ambient medium pressure is assumed to be governed by Bondi accretion. In general, the break point may not coincide with the Bondi radius. The results are presented in the online version of the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, available here.
EHT zoom into 3C 279 reveals inner structure and jet proper motions
Media coverage on 3C 279 Press Release (selection)
Printed Media
English
Astronomers have given us a look into the engine compartment of a quasar.
Almost exactly one year ago today, the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration released the first-ever image of a black hole's event horizon. Its publication marked the first time that we'd ever directly detected a region of space where so much matter was concentrated into such a tiny volume that nothing, not even light, could escape from it.
During that same observing campaign, which took place simultaneously across eight different astronomical observatories on Earth, a number of other targets were also imaged, including the quasar 3C 279. With the unprecedented resolution of the Event Horizon Telescope, the origin of this incredibly powerful cosmic jet was revealed for the first time. Although it agrees with what was theoretically predicted, the details are spectacular in an entirely new way.
At the same time the Event Horizon Telescope was gathering data to create the first-ever image of a black hole, it was also observing an even stranger object.
That object was a quasar, a pair of jets full of super-fast material shooting out from near a supermassive black hole. And the Event Horizon Telescope data suggested that those jets aren't working the way scientists had expected them to, with confusing kinks at their base.
April 07, 2020, Discover, "Event Horizon Telescope Looks Into a Black Hole's Jet", by Alison Klesman (including quotes of J.Y. Kim and J.A. Zensus)
A violent quasar reveals a mystery lurking at its center, thanks to high-resolution images that were never before possible.
Observations from the worldwide network of radio telescopes show the fire hose of plasma shooting from a distant galaxy does something strange near its source.
German
Vor einem Jahr wurde das erste Bild eines Schwarzen Lochs veröffentlicht. Jetzt gibt es ein zweites. Es zeigt Materie, die dem Loch knapp entkommen ist.
Ziemlich genau ein Jahr nachdem das erste direkte Bild eines Schwarzen Lochs um die Welt ging, legen die Forscher von der internationalen Event-Horizon-Kollaboration nach: Am Dienstag veröffentlichten sie eine zweite Aufnahme, die auf Daten der gleichen Messrunde beruht. Sie zeigt ein Objekt namens 3C279. Es ist rund hundertmal weiter entfernt als die Galaxie M87, in der das erste Schwarze Loch fotografiert wurde - aber auch um ein Vielfaches heller. Es handelt sich dabei um einen Quasar: Eine Galaxie, in deren Zentrum sich ein Schwarzes Loch mit etwa einer Milliarde Sonnenmassen befindet. Und das, während es sich eifrig Materie einverleibt, enorm starke Radiostrahlung aussendet.
Forschern gelangen Bilder von sogenannten Jets in einem Schwarzen Loch.
Italian
La tecnica utilizzata da EHT, chiamata interferometria a base molto lunga (VLBI), ha permesso agli scienziati di studiare la morfologia su scala fine del getto vicino alla sua base, dove si pensa abbia origine un'emissione di raggi gamma molto variabile.
Lo scatto, ottenuto con un livello di dettaglio inedito, ha immortalato per la prima volta un getto di plasma emesso da un buco nero supermassiccio al centro di una galassia, 3C 279, situata nella costellazione della Vergine.
Spanish
Un chorro de materia a alta velocidad emergiendo de un agujero negro supemasivo es la nueva imagen captada por el Telescopio Event Horizont (EHT), el mismo que hace un año dio a conocer la primera fotografía de un agujero negro.
La observación proporcionó al equipo internacional de investigadores, entre ellos españoles, alguna sorpresa sobre la forma de ese tipo de chorros y que se recoge en un estudio que publica Astronomy & Atrophysics.
La colaboración EHT (Event Horizon Telescope), que publicó la primera imagen de un agujero negro hace un año, ha revelado en el distante cuásar 3C279 los mejores detalles vistos hasta ahora en un chorro producido por un agujero negro supermasivo.
French
Un après l'obtention de la première image d'un trou noir, les membres de la collaboration Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) révèle celles d'un jet associé à un quasar. La résolution obtenue bat un record et montre des détails inédits.
Hungarian
Tavaly áprilisban ismerhette meg a világ az első szupernagy tömegű fekete lyukról készített képet, most pedig egy másik különleges égi forrásnak az Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) méréseiből készült rádiótérképében gyönyörködhetünk. 2017 áprilisában ugyanis nem csak az M87 jelű galaxis középpontjában található fekete lyukat figyelték meg ezzel a rádióantenna-hálózattal, hanem a 3C 279 jelű kvazárt is.
Located the site of emission of high-energy gamma rays in the blazar TXS 2013+370
17 February 2020
An international team of astronomers led by the doctoral researcher Efthalia Traianou from the MPI für Radioastronomie has identified the location of the gamma-ray emission in the blazar jet TXS 2013+370. The published results report very-long-interferometry observations of the blazar in the period 2002-13 at four wavelengths up to the challenging 3.5 mm addressed by the Global mm-VLBI Array (GMVA). The images revealed the existence of a spatially bent jet, described by co-existing moving emission features and stationary features. New jet features, lare observed to emerge from the core, accompanied by flaring activity in radio/mm- bands and γ-rays. The work infers that the high energy emission is produced at a distance of the order of about 3 lt-year from the jet apex, suggesting that the seed photon fields for the external Compton mechanism originate either in the dusty torus or in the broad-line region. These results are published in the present issue of the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal, see the original work here.
Effelsberg observes methanol emission in nearby galaxies
17 January 2020
A team of astronomers led by the MPIfR PhD candidate Pedro Kumire has observed 36 GHz emission of methanol (CH3OH) in nearby galaxies using the Effelsbeg 100-m radio telescope. Emission was detected in Maffei 2 (at a distance of 19.6 million lt-yr) and IC 342 (at 11.4 million lt-yr) at 36 GHz (4−1 → 30 E transition), but not at 44 GHz transition. Upper limits were reported for M 82, NGC 4388, NGC 5278, and Arp 220. These results are published in Astronomy and Astrophysics, for more detail, check here.
The neutrino detection in the blazar TXS 0506+056, linked to superluminal expansion and limb brigthening in the sub-parsec scale of the source
2 January 2020
The first letter of the Astronomy & Astrophysical journal in the 2020s, led by Eduardo Ros of the MPIfR, reports on the rapid expansion of the centre of the blazar TXS 0506+056, based on millimetre VLBI observations performe with the VLBA. During the months after the neutrino event associated with this source, the overall flux density was showing a steady increase, happening solely within the core. Notably, the core expands in size with apparent superluminal velocity during these six months so that the brightness temperature drops by a factor of three despite the strong flux density increase. The radio jet of TXS 0506+056 shows strong signs of deceleration and/or a spine-sheath structure in the innermost region. This structure is consistent with theoretical models that attribute the neutrino and gamma-ray production to interactions of electrons and protons in the highly relativistic jet spine with external photons originating from a slower moving jet region. Proton loading due to jet-star interactions in the inner host galaxy is suggested as the possible cause of deceleration. Further details can be found in the original publication here.
The first image of a black hole, scientific highlight of 2019 and even of the 2010s
2 January 2020
The announcement and publication of the first image of a black hole in April 2019, with substantial contribution of the MPIfR and its Radio Astronomy/VLBI department, has been highlighted by different media as one of the major scientific discoveries of the last year and of the 2010s. Here we provide some of the links reporting this fact.
The unprecedented photo shows the supermassive black hole at the center of the Messier 87 galaxy, which is about 54 million light-years away from Earth. The black hole’s mass is equivalent to 6.5 billion suns.
Though the image is somewhat fuzzy, it showed that, as predicted, black holes look like dark spheres surrounded by a glowing ring of light.
Scientists struggled for decades to capture a black hole on camera, since black holes distort space-time, ensuring that nothing can break free of their gravitational pull — even light. That’s why the image shows a unique shadow in the form of a perfect circle at the center.
2019 hatte für Astronomie-Fans einiges zu bieten: Den weltweiten Run zum Mond, das erste Foto eines Schwarzen Lochs und gegen Jahresende den Merkurtransit. Gehen Sie mit uns auf die Reise zu den magischen Momenten im Weltall!
Jedes Jahr kürt das Fachmagazin „Science“ die zehn Highlights des Jahres – und lässt so das wissenschaftliche Jahr noch einmal Revue passieren. 2019 hat die Jury das erste Foto eines Schwarzen Lochs an die Spitze gesetzt – einen astronomischen Meilenstein, der lange als unmöglich galt. Das Bild macht erstmals den dunklen Schatten des Schwarzen Lochs, umgeben von einem hellen Lichtring ausglühenden Gasen, sichtbar. Ebenfalls unter den Highlights des Jahres sehen die „Science“-Editoren unter anderem die erste Gesichtsrekonstruktion eines Denisova-Menschen, einen Quantencomputer, der den weltbesten Supercomputer geschlagen hat und eine wirksame Therapie gegen Ebola.
Das spektakulärste Bild des Jahres bot den ersten direkten visuellen Nachweis für ein supermassereiches Schwarzes Loch. Die Messungen dazu wurden bereits 2017 mit einem erdumspannenden Netzwerk aus acht Radioteleskopen gemacht. Es dauerte zwei Jahre, die enormen Datenmengen dieses „Ereignishorizontteleskops“ auszuwerten.
RTBF, 31 December 2019 (French): Picture of the Black Hole, Homo Luzonensis... 7 Scientific Discoveries which marked 2019 (Photo du trou noir, l'homo luzonensis... 7 découvertes scientifiques qui ont marqué 2019)
L’année 2019 a été riche en découvertes scientifiques, découvrez-en une sélection de notre rédaction.
Première photo du trou noir
En avril, des astronomes du monde entier, réunis sous le projet Event Horizon Telescope, ont présenté au monde la première image d’un trou noir lors de six conférences simultanées. Il s'agit du trou noir au centre de la galaxie M87 à 55 millions d'années-lumière de la Terre.
Portrait d’un trou noir
C’est sans conteste la plus grande prouesse scientifique de l’année, et tout simplement la première fois que l’on a pu «voir» un trou noir «pour de vrai».
Pour réaliser ce cliché stupéfiant dévoilé en avril, il aura fallu que tous les plus grands radiotélescopes du monde entier se coordonnent et pointent en même temps vers le trou noir central supermassif niché au cœur de la galaxie elliptique supergéante M87. On distingue ainsi l’ombre de cet ogre, au centre de l’image, qui se détache sur un fond lumineux constitué de gaz et de poussières s’apprêtant à s’effondrer dans sa gueule béante. Magique.
La revista Science ha seleccionado la primera imagen de un agujero negro como el hito científico más relevante del año. Los investigadores Antxon Alberdi y José Luis Gómez, que participaron en su obtención, hablan sobre su importancia
El Periódico, 28 December 2019 (in Spanish): Black Hole, Time Travel, and Climate Clocks: that was the most-read science this year in our newspaper (Agujeros negros, viajes en el tiempo y despertadores climáticos: esta ha sido la ciencia más leída del año), by Valentina Raffio
La primera imagen de un agujero negro destaca como uno de los avances más destacados del 2019
La revista Science ha seleccionado los diez avances científicos más importantes de este año. En las primeras posiciones, la fotografía del agujero negro, el rostro de los denisovanos y la explicación de la desaparición de los dinosaurios. Además, la publicación señala tres grandes tareas pendientes de la ciencia.
It was captured by a global network of eight telescopes, from Hawaii (the US) and Atacama (Chile) to the South Pole and Europe. The historic discovery is said to confirm Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
In April 2019, the world saw the first-ever image of a black hole. That’s when an international team of astronomers released a startling close-up image of a black hole’s “shadow,” showing a dark heart surrounded by a ring of light created by photons zipping around it.
Now honoring this feat that was once considered impossible, Science journal has named the Event Horizon Telescope or EHT’s image of a supermassive black hole as its 2019 Breakthrough of the Year.
