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- New Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations have traced the origin of the powerful jet back in the galaxy M87 to near the galaxy’s central supermassive black hole.
- Including more telescopes at large distances from each other – especially the ALMA telescope in Chile – provided crucial detail.
- These results bring scientists closer to understanding how black holes launch relativistic jets, powerful jets of radiation and particles thousands of light-years long and traveling close to the speed of light.
NRAO originally published this article on January 28, 2026. Edits by EarthSky.
Event Horizon Telescope probes M87 black hole jet
Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and other radio telescopes in the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) network have taken a major step toward pinpointing where the powerful jet from the supermassive black hole in galaxy M87 originates. Their study connects the black hole’s famous ring of light to a compact region that marks the likely base of the jet. And this finding brings scientists closer to understanding how black holes power some of the brightest beacons in the universe.
The giant elliptical galaxy M87, is located about 55 million light-years from Earth. Additionally, it hosts a supermassive black hole with a mass roughly six billion times that of our sun. This black hole generates a bright, narrow jet of particles that blasts out of the galaxy’s core. And this jet stretches for about 3,000 light-years into space.
Event Horizon Telescope is global
To study small regions this small so far away, astronomers linked radio telescopes around the globe into a virtual Earth-sized telescope. It’s known as the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). One of them ALMA, is a partner of the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO). Alma is one of the most sensitive and critical stations in this network. It enabled the EHT’s ability to detect fine details in the gas and jet close to the black hole.
By using EHT observations of M87 from 2021, the team was able to compare how bright the radio emission appears on different spatial scales. As a result, they found that the glowing ring around the black hole cannot explain all of its radio light. However, they found an additional compact source, about 0.09 light-years from the black hole. And it matches the predicted location of the jet’s base.
So by using ALMA as a baseline and connecting it with other observatories, other structures were revealed that link the black hole’s immediate surroundings to the larger-scale jet. Thus, astronomers bridged the gap between the ring and the jet and used computer models to test how jets are launched.
Future studies are needed
Naturally, future EHT observations that include ALMA and additional telescopes. For example, the Large Millimeter Telescope in Mexico, will sharpen its view even further. Researchers hope to determine the base of the jet from their studies. Plus, they aim to directly image the region where matter near the black hole is funneled into the jet. This would increase our knowledge and understanding of black hole physics.
Bottom line: New observations with the Event Horizon Telescope trace the M87 black hole jet back to its likely source, linking to the famous ring of light at the jet’s base.
Via: New Event Horizon Telescope Results Trace M87 Jet Back to Its Black Hole
Read more: M87’s jet has a double-helix structure
Read more: New image of M87’s supermassive black hole