Last year in April, scientists released a picture of a black hole’s shadow – the one of the black hole at the core of the galaxy Messier 87, to be exact. Now, scientists have found evidence that the ring around the black hole wobbles, which makes it look like it is glittering.
When you look at the picture of the black hole, you can’t help but notice that one side of the ring is much lighter than the other darker, less noticeable side. Well, that ring is made of swirling gas and dust that is being fed into the black hole. As part of the ring rotates toward us, the viewers, it appears brighter, and when it rotates away, the opposite happens.
The team attributes this movement to turbulence in the flow. Turbulence means unsteady movement of air or water, or of some other fluid. So that tells us a lot about the regions around a supermassive black hole, and the impact it has on the material around it. Isn’t this universe a place of wonders!?