Event Horizon Telescope Captures First Magnetic Field Flip Around M87* Black Hole

Recent multi-year observations of the supermassive black hole M87*, located 55 million light-years away, reveal a remarkable and unexpected flip in its magnetic field polarity. Using polarized light data from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collected in 2017, 2018, and 2021, scientists observed that the black hole's surrounding magnetized plasma shifted from a clockwise to an anti-clockwise magnetic field orientation, marking the first detection of such a magnetic polarity reversal near a black hole. This dynamic and unstable magnetic environment challenges current theoretical models, as such massive black holes were previously thought to have stable fields. Additionally, the observations provide new insights into how magnetic fields influence the formation and behavior of relativistic jets emitted by M87*, which play a critical role in galaxy evolution by regulating star formation and distributing energy across vast distances. These findings underscore the complex and evolving nature of black hole environments, pushing the limits of astrophysical understanding regarding matter and energy interactions near event horizons.