A new image from the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration, which includes George Wong, Frank and Peggy Taplin Member in the School of Natural Sciences, has uncovered strong and organized magnetic fields spiraling from the edge of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
A new image from the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration, which includes George Wong, Frank and Peggy Taplin Member in the School of Natural Sciences, has uncovered strong and organized magnetic fields spiraling from the edge of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
Scholars from the School of Natural Sciences brought together astrophysicists from across the world for a workshop focused on improving understanding of observations from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). The organizers also hosted an observing night for the IAS community, featuring a specially constructed radio telescope.
George Wong, Frank and Peggy Taplin Member in the School of Natural Sciences, and astrophysicists from Princeton University and Vanderbilt University have determined conclusively that energy close to the event horizon of M87’s central black hole is pushing outward, not inward—as one would normally assume with black holes.
George Wong, Frank and Peggy Taplin Member in the School of Natural Sciences, and astrophysicists from Princeton University and Vanderbilt University have determined conclusively that energy close to the event horizon of M87’s central black hole is pushing outward, not inward—as one would normally assume with black holes.
On May 19, 2023, the IAS community came together to celebrate Founders Day, an annual event that honors sibling philanthropists Louis Bamberger and Caroline Bamberger Fuld, whose gift secured the foundation and endowment of IAS.
"The gas gobbled up by M87* and Sgr A* (the supermassive black holes at the centers of Messier 87 and the Milky Way), is likely a mix of hydrogen and helium with just a dash of heavier elements, but we don’t know its exact composition."
Astronomers have unveiled the first image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. This result provides overwhelming evidence that the object is indeed a black hole and yields valuable clues about the workings of such giants, which are thought to reside at the center of most galaxies.
