Crescent Shadow of Messier 87’s Supermassive Black Hole is Wobbling0

• From Around the Web, Space
• September 24, 2020

In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) delivered the first resolved images of M87*, the supermassive black hole in the center of the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87 (M87). Those images were produced using EHT observations performed in April 2017. Additional observations were required to investigate the persistence of the primary image feature and to quantify the image variability. To address this need, astronomers analyzed M87* data collected with the proto-EHT array of telescopes in 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013. The analysis reveals the behavior of the black hole image across this period, indicating persistence of the crescent-like shadow feature, but also variation of its orientation — the crescent appears to be wobbling.