Suggested Searches

 

1 min read

Magnetic Funnel Around a Supermassive Black Hole

Magnetic Funnel Around a Supermassive Black Hole
The accretion disk of hot plasma swirling around a supermassive black hole generates powerful magnetic fields. The disk's rotation twists the field into a funnel shape. These field lines constrict and direct the outflow of high-speed plasma from the black hole's vicinity. The result is a narrow, tapered, extragalactic jet.

Downloads

  • 2400 × 1800
    jpg (1.18 MB)
  • 2400 × 1800
    tif (12.38 MB)
  • PDF
    (7.37 MB)
  • 200 × 200
    jpg (20.15 KB)
  • 400 × 300
    jpg (44.22 KB)
  • 1000 × 750
    jpg (203.83 KB)
  • 1280 × 960
    jpg (306.43 KB)

Related Images & Videos

Galaxy M87 Jet (Annotated)

Galaxy M87 Jet (Annotated)

This sequence of images, taken over a 13-year span by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, reveals changes in a black-hole-powered jet of hot gas in the giant elliptical galaxy M87. The observations show that the river of plasma, traveling at nearly the speed of light, may follow the...

Galaxy M87 Jet

Galaxy M87 Jet

Compass and Scale Image for M87 Jet

Compass and Scale Image for M87 Jet

Zoom Into Black Hole Jet

Zoom Into Black Hole Jet

This video begins with a view of the stars and galaxies in the spring constellation Virgo. We zoom into the giant elliptical galaxy M87, which lies near the center of the Virgo cluster of galaxies. A high-speed jet of hot plasma is buried deep inside the galaxy. A supermassive...

Share

Details

Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

Related Terms

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

Hubble Space Telescope

Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.

Hubble Science Highlights

Hubble Images

Hubble News