The Event Horizon Telescope collaboration has done it again!

Following up on their historic 2019 image of the supermassive black hole at the centre of the M87 galaxy, they have now released a new version showing the magnetic fields swirling around the event horizon in polarised light.

EHT Polarisation Press Release.

Seeing the striations of the magnetic field lines pushing back against the immense gravitational pull is staggeringly beautiful. It provides crucial clues about how these supermassive beasts manage to launch energetic jets of matter thousands of light-years out into deep space. The level of detail we can now resolve using a virtual Earth-sized telescope is just phenomenal.