![The large image shows the jet streaming from the center of the galaxy M87, in visible light. The inset zooms in on the black hole, and shows the swirling gas around the galaxy's core in radio light. M87 is one of the largest galaxies known, and has the largest-known black hole, estimated around 6.6 billion times the mass of the Sun. [Credit: J. A. Biretta et al./Hubble Heritage Team (STScI /AURA)/NASA, NRAO/AUI/NSF/W. Cotton (inset)]](https://sciencevspseudoscience.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/m87_jet_combined.jpg?w=287&h=300)
The large image shows the jet streaming from the center of the galaxy M87, in visible light. The inset zooms in on the black hole, and shows the swirling gas around the galaxy’s core in radio light. M87 is one of the largest galaxies known, and has the largest-known black hole, estimated around 6.6 billion times the mass of the Sun. [Credit: J. A. Biretta et al./Hubble Heritage Team (STScI /AURA)/NASA, NRAO/AUI/NSF/W. Cotton (inset)]
Astronomers have also observed fluctuations in the jet from M87’s black hole over several years. One detailed study used the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), a string of 10 radio telescopes stretching across the United States and US Virgin Islands. Using many telescopes in tandem — a method known as very long baseline interferometry, or VLBI — allows for very high resolution images, much better than any single telescope can achieve. Taking successive images at three-week intervals, Craig Walker, Chun Ly, Bill Junor, and Phil Hardee created the movie you see below. Even on such a short time span as three weeks, the jet fluctuates in a noticeable way: this is a powerful black hole, pumping out a lot of energy into space.
![Fluctuations in the jet from M87 in radio light, as seen using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). [Credit: NRAO]](https://sciencevspseudoscience.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/m87_movie.gif?w=500&h=334)
Fluctuations in the jet from M87 in radio light, as seen using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). [Credit: NRAO]
I’ll be teaching a class on black holes for CosmoAcademy this fall, in which I hope you’ll consider enrolling. Black holes are agents of cosmic destruction: they shred stars, crush planets, and through their gravitation pump huge amounts of strong radiation into their environments. From a remove, however, they are also agents of beauty: the light emitted by their action makes them some of the brightest objects in the cosmos, visible across the deep void of space. That coupling of violence and wonder is why I love black holes; I hope you can see why they are wonderful too.
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