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Composite image of three infrared wavelengths captured by JWST showing the jet ejecting from the Messier 87 supermassive black hole. | Credit: Image reproduced from: Röder J et al (2025), Astronomy & Astrophysics 701: L12. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202556577. © 2025 Authors. Licensed under CC BY 4.0
New images from the James Webb Telescope have captured never-before-seen details of giant jets shooting from the famous black hole M87* – the first black hole to be photographed directly by the Event Horizon telescope.
New images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) were published in the journal Science on September 22 Astronomy and astrophysicsalso revealed the clearest image to date of a huge counter-jet flying in the opposite direction in space, the study authors found.
A jet of subatomic particles erupting from the supermassive black hole at the center of the giant galaxy Messier 87 (M87), 54 million light-years from Earth, is catapulting through space at nearly the speed of light. Previous observations at radio wavelengths from A very large array (VLA) in New Mexico revealed that the jet is shaped like a double helix and is about 8,000 light-years across.
Although supermassive black hole jets are somewhat common, “M87’s jet is special in that it is relatively close (on astronomical scales) and very bright across the spectrum,” study co-author. Jan Roderan astrophysicist at the Andalusian Institute of Astrophysics in Spain told Live Science via email. That makes it “an ideal laboratory for the study of jet physics,” he said.
The black hole M87* is a supermassive black hole with an equivalent mass of about 6.5 billion suns. It was the first black hole to be imaged directly in 2019 by the Event Horizon Telescope, an array of eight globally linked radio telescopes.
Since then, the black hole and its jets have been studied frequently, and recent studies have shown that the cosmic monster is spinning at nearly 80% cosmic speedand that the magnetic fields surrounding the black hole have has changed drastically in just a few short years.
A very large image of the M87 radio nozzle created at several radio frequencies. The jet seen in this image is about 8,000 light-years long and originates from a bright spot on the left, in the galactic core, where the supermassive black hole is located. | Credit: Pasetto et al., Sophia Dagnello, NRAO/AUI/NSF.
Previous studies have looked at the jet using a variety of methods electromagnetic wavelengthsincluding radio waves, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays. However, its structure in the infrared scale, which, according to Röder, is essential for combining radio and visible light images, was not known.
Now, Röder and his team have used infrared images of M87 taken by JWST in 2024. in June Near infrared camera (NIRCam) to explore the jet like never before. First, the team isolated the jet in the images by modeling the galaxy and removing its light; as well as any additional stars, dust, and background galaxies. They then used these cleared images to determine all the individual features of the jet at four infrared wavelengths.
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The two shorter-wavelength images were of extremely high resolution and captured one of the brightest parts of the jet, called HST-1, near the galactic core. Previous studies have modeled HST-1 using X-ray data and found that it was composed of two light-emitting areas. These images are the first direct observations to confirm this structure, Röder said.
The two longer wavelength images show a weak C-shaped countercurrent emerging from the core in the opposite direction of the main current. While the contraflow also shows up in radio wave pictures, Röder said the clarity of the infrared images was “very interesting.”
By continuing to take pictures at different wavelengths, scientists will be able to understand how the jet interacts with its space environment and what the current and its opposite are made of. “With each new observation, we get closer to the whole picture,” Röder added.