Scientists confirm first black hole ever imaged is actually spinning
Published on Oct 10, 2023 at 3:47 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Oct 10, 2023 at 3:48 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
A study has revealed that the first black hole ever imaged by the human race is actually spinning on an axis in new “unequivocal evidence”.
The black hole in question is 6.5 billion times the size of the Sun and located at the center of radio galaxy, M87.
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Scientists say they can tell that it’s spinning by measuring its “jet base”.
In layman’s terms, the “jet base” is where the black hole’s massive gravitational pull sucks in gas and dust – as well as light.
A small amount of particles that don’t fall into the black hole spew out from the black hole’s poles.
They show up as beams along the axis that measure thousands of light years across.
And this “jet base” appears to be swinging like a pendulum on a 11-year cycle, changing its directions by roughly 10 degrees.
This revealed that the black hole was wobbling on its axis as it rotated – like a giant cosmic spinning top.
The Chinese scientists behind the discovery used 22 years’ worth of data dating back to the year 2000 to reach this conclusion.
Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters used more than 20 radio telescopes around the world to take images and reach their findings, which were published in the journal, Nature.
“We are thrilled by this significant finding,” CUI Yuzhu, a postdoctoral researcher at Zhejiang Lab, based in Hangzhou said.
“Since the misalignment between the black hole and the disk is relatively small and the precession period is around 11 years, accumulating high-resolution data tracing M87’s structure over two decades and thorough analysis are essential to obtain this achievement.”
While more research is needed to answer why it’s spinning, it’s thought that the black hole’s spin axis doesn’t perfectly align with the rotational axis of its accretion disk.
The “accretion disk” is a ring of materials gradually spiralling into the black hole’s void to be consumed.
The misalignment between the rotating mass and the matter swirling around it causes “a significant impact on surrounding spacetime”.
This then affects the movement of nearby objects.
Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity calls this “frame-dragging”.
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
