So if not a black hole, then what?

[allynh]

HA! This from xkcd, showing the size comparison of the "photograph" to our solar system.

M87 Black Hole Size Comparison
https://xkcd.com/2135/

We are probably looking down the throat of a galactic z-pinch!

[Michael Mozina]

I can accept the idea that we're looking down the throat of M87. but we should be looking at the side of the accretion disk of the object at the center of our own galaxy. Why would we even expect to see an event horizon from the object at the center of our galaxy?

[Zyxzevn]

We are probably looking down the throat of a galactic z-pinch!

But where is the plasma beam?
The beam that stretches a few galaxies.
Why is this very high energetic phenomenon invisible in the picture?

[allynh]

Why would we even expect to see an event horizon from the object at the center of our galaxy?

I posted a number of links in 2017 that talks about the so called "Black Hole" at the center of the Milky Way. They looked at the center, saw the stars orbiting something, and declared it a "Black Hole" simply because they could not see anything in the center.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1579&start=60#p119739

They were using actual optical telescopes to see the center of the Milky Way, not playing games with radio telescope data.

If it had been an actual "Black Hole" we would have seen the accretion disk glowing in the infrared.

Why is this very high energetic phenomenon invisible in the picture?

Remember, this is data of a region, not a "picture".

Based on the scale that xkcd was drawing, the plasma beam would be cropped from the data, the same way that they crop quasars from a picture so you can't see that it is connected to a near by galaxy.

[Solar]

I can accept the idea that we're looking down the throat of M87. but we should be looking at the side of the accretion disk of the object at the center of our own galaxy. Why would we even expect to see an event horizon from the object at the center of our galaxy?

There is no such thing as an "accretion disk". That is a gravitation-based characterization (aka "in-falling" onto something) based on the observation of "gas & dust" being evacuated ("drawn into") the opening, or "mouth", of a "Circumnuclear Disk".

Neither is that an "event horizon". It is a feature of plasma electrodynamic interactions.

Here, in the Milky Way, this has been studied at some length as several of the links on that Google page will reveal. The Circunuclear Disk is (for all intents and purposes) tightly wound torus (constrained) via electric and magnetic fields and has prodigiously high ionization of molecular hydrogen occurring there. The "dust & gas" are contributions (by-products) being scavenged from within the galaxy as stars "exhale" their various "winds". One does not "expect" to see an "event horizon" when observations of the actual Circumnuclear Disk (the bright ring of Sag A*) has had so much coverage in the literature already.

It is confusing to use nomenclature from gravitational astrophysics: "infalling", "event horizon", "black hole" etc in conjunction with trying to understand what one is looking at within plasma physics i.e. "torus", "evacuation", "phase-space holes" etc. They are not compatible because the nomenclature of each field references different causes (gravity only v/s electric and magnetic fields and electric currents). NOTHING in space is "falling" for there is neither "Up" nor "Down" in order that the characterization of "falling" is appropriate.

As explained in the following paper (there are others of course) The Circumnuclear Disk ionizes. That is why it glows so brightly resulting in the formation of a torus. One does *not* refer to, or go looking for, an Ionizing Circumnuclear Disk (nor any other ionizing astrophysical disk) as a gravitational "event horizon".

H3+ Spectroscopy and the Ionization Rate of Molecular Hydrogen in the Central Few Parsecs of the Galaxy- Goto, M. et al. J.Phys.Chem

Per previous post, and in line with what Member Allynh has assessed note also that the epitome (or apex) of this supposed “black hole” image, including its ill-named “event horizon”, were graphically represented as an picture-icon in the upper left-hand corner of an Special issue on high field laser-plasma interactions. It’s been sitting there in all of its regal glory representing both the torus (circumnuclear disk) and emerging “beams” garnered from plasma lab experiments.

The very same image, (again in the upper left-hand corner) but with darker background, representing this aspect of laser-plasma interactions has also been sitting on the Conference website apparently since sometime in 2018.

Those plasma experiment based images correlate with what is outlined in the smaller white box of Chandra Wide Field. They both show "Torus" and "Jet". One image is from laser-plasma interactions in the lab, the other from M87.

Now, all of a sudden, gravitational astronomy garners an image of M87 that reveals a formation consisting of three different 'structures' (torus, opening, and tube) already known to exist within in the physics of Plasma Interactions and ... something new occurred??

No; it did not. What has occurred is that the recent images of M87 STILL reveal 'structures' and formations already known to exist in Plasma Electrodynamics particularly with regards to creating "beams" with lasers directed at a target.

We are probably looking down the throat of a galactic z-pinch!

But where is the plasma beam?
The beam that stretches a few galaxies.
Why is this very high energetic phenomenon invisible in the picture?

(M87) As you know astrophysics has been manipulating, removing, and/or recoloring light data to process images for decades.

[Michael Mozina]

Why would we even expect to see an event horizon from the object at the center of our galaxy?

I posted a number of links in 2017 that talks about the so called "Black Hole" at the center of the Milky Way. They looked at the center, saw the stars orbiting something, and declared it a "Black Hole" simply because they could not see anything in the center.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1579&start=60#p119739

They were using actual optical telescopes to see the center of the Milky Way, not playing games with radio telescope data.

If it had been an actual "Black Hole" we would have seen the accretion disk glowing in the infrared.

Why is this very high energetic phenomenon invisible in the picture?

Remember, this is data of a region, not a "picture".

Based on the scale that xkcd was drawing, the plasma beam would be cropped from the data, the same way that they crop quasars from a picture so you can't see that it is connected to a near by galaxy.

Hmmm. Well, "Powehi"in M87 looks like it has an accretion disk, and looks about like I'd expect it to look if I was staring down the barrel of the accretion disk. If however I'm looking sideways at the accretion disk (Milky Way), I might expect to see nothing but an accretion disk band and maybe some evidence of Birkeland currents shooting out the poles.

I don't see any obvious jets in any of the images of M87 and it definitely has them. Perhaps we don't see them in radio waves because they have a peak radiation at much higher energy wavelengths?

[folaht]

I'd like to understand more specifically what it actually is in the picture, regardless of how they processed the image.

And dumb it down for the unelectrically minded.

I'm a layman like you, so as a computer programmer I can only tell what I know from scouring the internet.

Others, correct me if I'm wrong.

The "picture" is a zoomed in picture of this picture below:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... 87_jet.jpg

It zoomed into the bright white spot.

The hazy stuff and bright white spot are all stars that make up a so-called elliptical galaxy.
The galaxy is called M87 and it's the largest galaxy in the Virgo cluster and the Virgo supercluster.
We are in the Milky way / Local Group / Virgo supercluster.



---

The black hole "picture" was made by putting several "pictures" put together done by radio telescopes.
It is not an optical picture. It's done with radio waves.

An optical picure does not show any dark spot as you can see below:

https://www.universetoday.com/wp-conten ... -m87-1.jpg


Since black holes are supposed to reside in the center of galaxies, our milky way is also studied:

You see an animation of the center below:

https://youtu.be/dv1igzE-aX4?t=2044

And this is what it makes me think of:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixk4Q-vCiks

[Webbman]

For fun:

Also explains the "smoke trail"
Case solved!

i have to say that is my favorite explanation.

[neilwilkes]

For fun:

Also explains the "smoke trail"
Case solved!

i have to say that is my favorite explanation.

Mine too - I love it, and would like to repost that elsewhere....would this be okay>?

[Zyxzevn]

Mine too - I love it, and would like to repost that elsewhere....would this be okay>?

Sure. I did not create it myself.

[nigma46]

If radio interferometry cannot produce an 'image', is that equivalent to MRI 'images'?

i.e. Are MRI 'images' also not images?

[Webbman]

the issue is that they are a specific frequency. Not all objects emit those frequencies.

so the plasma ( the ring) might be "visible" to the detector because it emits the appropriate radio frequency, but the core might not emit that frequency or even that em band depending on its energy.

i.e you wouldnt use a cell phone camera to detect gamma rays and then conclude the part that wasnt detected was a black hole (cell phones dont detect gamma rays).

[Zyxzevn]

Via SuspiciousObservers


Video about topic (at 3:10)

Paper: Interactions between radio galaxies and cluster shocks (pdf)

[Solar]

the issue is that they are a specific frequency. Not all objects emit those frequencies.

so the plasma ( the ring) might be "visible" to the detector because it emits the appropriate radio frequency, but the core might not emit that frequency or even that em band depending on its energy.

i.e you wouldnt use a cell phone camera to detect gamma rays and then conclude the part that wasnt detected was a black hole (cell phones dont detect gamma rays).

Exactly

The Chandra Wide-Field image is basically the Earth equivalent of an angled view into the eye-wall of a funnel cloud in cosmic plasma for which no light is reflected from the inner wall.

1-Funnel Cloud

2-Funnel Cloud

Here is another ballistic version as Zyxzevn has shown:

Bullet through Glass

Check out the animated movies from: M87 VLBA Movie at 43 GHz

You can tell where this will go in the future. The Circumnuclear Disk of M87 will be observed over the years and as the bright spots move around the plasma torus and change in ionization intensity the activity will be summed up as M87's "black hole is feeding" (or consuming) - take your pick.

[Zyxzevn]

Bullet through Glass

This gave me the idea:
What if the particles are actually going faster than light?
(Neutrinos anyone?)
It would give an enormous shock-wave.