Infrared images reveal how black holes affect the space around them

An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a region at the center of a galaxy where a supermassive black hole is actively consuming surrounding material.

As this matter spirals toward the black hole, it forms a hot, glowing disk called an accretion disk, which emits enormous amounts of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum. This process makes AGNs some of the brightest and most energetic objects in the universe.

Now, astronomers at the University of Arizona and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy have captured the sharpest infrared images ever taken of an AGN.

Using the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI), the researchers observed the AGN in NGC 1068 – one of the closest active galaxies to the Milky Way.

The images reveal new details about how black holes interact with their surroundings.

Capabilities of an extremely large telescope

The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), located on Mount Graham in Arizona, features two 8.4-meter mirrors mounted side by side. When combined through interferometry, they function as a single, extremely large telescope.

“The Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer can be considered the first extremely large telescope, so it’s very exciting to prove this is possible,” said Jacob Isbell, postdoctoral researcher at Steward Observatory and lead author of the study.

The LBTI has already demonstrated its ability to capture incredibly detailed images of celestial objects. One of its most notable achievements was studying volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon Io, where it provided unprecedented observations of volcanic activity on another world.

Building on this success, scientists decided to apply the same imaging technique to studying active galactic nuclei. They believed that if the interferometer could capture fine details on Io, it could also reveal new insights about the structure and behavior of AGN.

This decision led to the highest-resolution infrared images ever taken of an AGN, marking a major step forward in understanding how supermassive black holes interact with their surroundings.

Closer look at an active galactic nucleus

Supermassive black holes sit at the center of many galaxies, but they are not always “active.” A black hole becomes active when it pulls in a significant amount of surrounding material, such as gas and dust.

The more material that enters the spinning accretion disk, the hotter and brighter it becomes, emitting intense light.

In galaxies like NGC 1068, the accretion disk is extremely bright, indicating that the black hole is actively consuming matter. This brightness is a key sign of an active galactic nucleus, meaning the black hole is in a feeding phase, releasing vast amounts of energy that can affect its surrounding galaxy.

“The AGN within the galaxy NGC 1068 is especially bright, so it was the perfect opportunity to test this method,” Isbell said. “These are the highest resolution direct images of an AGN taken so far.”

Images capture black hole behavior

The new images of the active galactic nucleus from University of Arizona and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy revealed multiple cosmic processes occurring at the same time.

One of these is radiation pressure and dusty winds, where the intense light from the accretion disk pushes surrounding dust outward, creating a wind of tiny particles. This phenomenon occurs because the powerful radiation from the black hole exerts pressure on the dust, forcing it to move away.

Another process observed is radio jet feedback, where a powerful jet of radiation and particles emitted by the black hole collides with nearby clouds of molecular gas and dust. This collision heats the gas to temperatures much higher than expected, significantly impacting the surrounding environment.

In previous studies, lower-resolution images could not separate these distinct processes, making them appear as a single blended effect.

However, the exceptional clarity of the  LBTI has now allowed astronomers to distinguish between these individual phenomena, providing a much clearer understanding of how AGN interact with their host galaxies.

Expanding the frontiers of astronomy

The observations mark a major step forward in AGN research and set the stage for future discoveries with even larger telescopes, like the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) in Chile.

“This type of imaging can be used on any astronomical object,” Isbell said. “We’ve already started looking at disks around stars or very large, evolved stars, which have dusty envelopes around them.”

As telescope technology advances, scientists will gain an even deeper understanding of black holes and their influence on galaxies. The new tools and their images will help unravel the mysteries of how black holes shape the universe, leading to groundbreaking discoveries in astrophysics.

The study is published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Image Credit: European Southern Observatory

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