New EHT Images Reveal Unexpected Polarization Flips at M87* | Center for Astrophysics

Cambridge, MA— The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration has unveiled new, detailed images of the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy M87— known as M87*— revealing a dynamic environment with changing polarization patterns near the black hole. 

Additionally, the scientists found the first signatures of the extended jet emission near the jet base, which connects to the ring around M87*, in EHT data. These new observations, published today Astronomy & Astrophysics are providing new insight into how matter and energy behave in the extreme environments surrounding black holes. Scientists from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) are helping lead the international effort to unlock the secrets of M87* and its flipping polarization.

“Using a range of synthetic data tests, we ensured our algorithms could reliably track changes in both the polarization and the black hole shadow of M87*,” said Erandi Chavez, a CfA astronomy graduate student at Harvard University and project collaborator. “These careful checks give us confidence that the shifts we see in M87*’s polarization over the years are genuine, not artifacts of our methods.”