Mysterious swirling light gives new insights into black holes

Experts discover crucial evidence that could reveal how magnetic fields behave around black holes

An image that captures streaks of polarised light swirling around a supermassive black hole is providing new insight into how galaxies can project streams of energy thousands of light-years outward from their core.

Black holes are places where the pull of gravity is so strong that even light cannot escape. Most surrounding matter gets sucked in, but some particles escape just moments before they are captured and are blown far out into space.