Snapshot: the twisted jet of the M87 | Astronomy.com

The object of the very first image of a black hole, the M87 supermassive black hole (SMBH) has once again caught the attention of scientists with its jet. Emanated from the heart of the galaxy, the jet spans nearly 3,300 light years and, thanks to research published on December 7 in Letters from the astrophysical journal, is obviously directed by the helix-shaped magnetic field of the SMBH.

SMBHs are known to produce relativistic jets when they engulf nearby materials. As the particles are driven faster and faster around the black hole, some of them are projected at speeds close to the speed of light in narrow beams.

“Helical magnetic fields are expected near the black hole and are believed to play a very important role in channeling material into a narrow stream, but we did not expect to find such a strong helical field extending so far towards it. ‘outside,’ co-author Jose M. Marti, of the University of Valencia, said in a press release.

But these magnetic fields are expected to weaken as they move away from their source, the jets from M87 suggest that something else must happen to keep the magnetic field at this distance. The team suggests that instabilities within the material can cause pockets of high pressure areas that cause the magnetic field to stay strong for thousands of light years.