18/06/2026 13:22 - Tecnologia
Representación artística de un agujero negro supermasivo en el espacio con un chorro de energía brillante emergiendo de sus polos, disco de acreción naranja brillante, fondo de estrellas distantes, estilo astronómico científico
NASA has successfully captured in X-rays the powerful jet of matter emerging from supermassive black hole M87*, the same cosmic phenomenon that in April 2019 became the first black hole ever photographed in human history. This new observation represents a significant advancement in understanding these enigmatic cosmic objects that continue to challenge scientific knowledge.
The black hole M87* resides at the center of the supergiant elliptical galaxy Messier 87, located approximately 55 million light-years from Earth. Its mass is staggering: equivalent to 6.5 billion suns, making it one of the most massive supermassive black holes known to science. For context, our Milky Way's central black hole, Sagittarius A*, has a mass of only about 4 million suns.
Black hole jets are relativistic streams of matter (traveling at speeds approaching the speed of light) that emerge perpendicularly from the accretion disk, shooting out from the poles of the black hole. These jets can extend for thousands of light-years and are produced by intense magnetic fields that channel matter.
The jet from M87* is particularly famous because it has been observed across multiple wavelengths, and studying it helps scientists understand how black holes influence the evolution of their host galaxies, a phenomenon known as "AGN feedback" (Active Galactic Nucleus feedback). This process regulates star formation and distributes heavy elements throughout the galaxy.
X-rays are a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation that allows astronomers to observe the most extreme phenomena in the universe. Earth's atmosphere blocks this radiation, which is why observations require space-based telescopes like NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
X-ray observations are crucial for studying black holes because they reveal the hottest and most energetic regions near the event horizon, where matter reaches temperatures of millions of degrees before being swallowed by the black hole. This provides insights invisible to optical telescopes.
In April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) — a network of radio telescopes distributed around the globe that functions as a virtual observatory the size of Earth — revealed the first direct image of a black hole. The historic image showed the "shadow" of the black hole, a dark region surrounded by a bright ring of superheated matter.
This achievement required collaboration among more than 200 scientists from 20 countries and the processing of petabytes of data collected during observations in 2017. The image confirmed predictions from Einstein's Theory of General Relativity regarding the appearance of black holes, validating a century of theoretical physics.
Understanding black hole jets has fundamental implications for comprehending galaxy evolution, the distribution of heavy elements throughout the universe, and the most extreme physical processes in existence. Supermassive black holes like M87* play a crucial role in the formation and development of their host galaxies, acting as cosmic "thermostats" that regulate star formation.
These observations also help scientists test fundamental physics theories under conditions impossible to replicate on Earth, from testing general relativity in extreme gravity to understanding magnetic field dynamics near light speed.
| Location | Center of galaxy Messier 87 (Virgo constellation) |
| Distance | 55 million light-years from Earth |
| Mass | 6.5 billion times the mass of our Sun |
| First Photograph | April 10, 2019 |
| Type | Supermassive black hole |
| Event Horizon | Approximate diameter of 40 billion km |
The M87 galaxy was discovered in 1781 by French astronomer Charles Messier, who included it in his famous catalog of diffuse objects (it became entry number 87, hence its name). Since then, it has been the subject of constant study due to its relative proximity and the impressive jet of matter emerging from its center. The jet was first identified in 1918 by Heber Curtis of the Lick Observatory in California.
The Virgo Cluster, where M87 resides, contains over 1,300 galaxies and represents one of the nearest galaxy clusters to our own Local Group, making it an ideal laboratory for extragalactic astronomy.
Source: Rosario3
Alfredo S. Quiroga
