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University of Waterloo

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New images from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration have revealed a dynamic environment with changing polarization patterns in the magnetic fields of the supermassive black hole M87*. As shown in the images above, while M87*’s magnetic fields appeared to spiral in one direction in 2017, they settled in 2018 and reversed direction in 2021. The cumulative effects of this polarization change over time suggests that M87* and its surrounding environment are constantly evolving.  

 

 

 

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Credit: EHT Collaboration

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