New black hole image shows off vortex of magnetic chaos

A new, detailed shot of a black hole reveals spiraling lines of mysterious magnetic forces that give astronomers an unprecedented look at how these cosmic monsters behave. It’s an intimate portrait of the black hole at the center of the gigantic M87 galaxy, which lies some 55 million light-years away from Earth.

Black holes are scattered across the universe and exist in almost every galaxy, but their behavior remains one of the most intriguing mysteries in astronomy. The image helps depict how the black hole violently swallows matter and shoots energetic jets back out from its core. Those jets can extend thousands of lightyears into space.

Today’s photo is from the same international team of radio astronomers who shot the first photo of...

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