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Photo: Visit to VIRAC's 32-metre telescope, refurbished between 2011 and 2016 and modernized in 2022. From left to right: VIRAC researchers Vladislavs Bezrukovs and Ivars Šmelds, JIVE director Agnieszka Słowikowska‪, ‪Head of Engineering at Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Mārcis Donerblics.

JIVE director's visit to Latvia: strengthening bonds

10/11/2023

 Photo: Visit to VIRAC's 32-metre telescope, refurbished between 2011 and 2016 and modernized in 2022. From left to right: VIRAC researchers Vladislavs Bezrukovs and Ivars Šmelds, JIVE director Agnieszka Słowikowska‪, Head of Engineering at Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Mārcis Donerblics.

 

A computer simulation of a disk of plasma around the supermassive black hole at the center of the M87 galaxy. A new analysis of the circularly polarized, or spiraling light, in EHT observations shows that magnetic fields near the black hole are strong. These magnetic fields push back on infalling matter and help launch jets of matter at velocities near the speed of light out. Image credit: George Wong

Today in ApJL: EHT collaboration published new results

08/11/2023
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration has published new results that describe for the first time how light from the edge of the supermassive black hole M87* spirals as it escapes the black hole’s intense gravity, a signature known as circular polarization. The way light’s electric field prefers to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise as it travels carries information about the magnetic field and types of high-energy particles around the black hole. The new paper, published today in Astrophysical Journal Letters, supports earlier findings from the EHT that the magnetic field near the M87* black hole is strong enough to occasionally stop the black hole from swallowing up nearby matter.
High-resolution image of the relativistic jet in the blazar 3C 279 obtained with RadioAstron. The image reveals a complex structure within the jet with several parsec-scale filaments forming a helix shape. Credit: RadioAstron/Fuentes et al.

New in Nature Astronomy: Space interferometry reveals helical filaments within a supermassive black hole's jet

26/10/2023
The Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC) leads the observation at the highest angular resolution and sensitivity of the jet emerging from the core of the galaxy 3C 279 at nearly the speed of light. The image obtained reveals large helical filaments close to the central engine, the existence of which requires an alternative model to the one employed for four decades to explain the variability of these jets
Image: ESO/M. Kornmesser

Science features new paper with co-author Shivani Bhandari, researcher at ASTRON and JIVE

19/10/2023

This artist’s impression (not to scale) illustrates the path of the fast radio burst FRB 20220610A, from the distant galaxy where it originated all the way to Earth, in one of the Milky Way’s spiral arms. The source galaxy of FRB 20220610A, pinned down thanks to ESO’s Very Large Telescope, appears to be located within a small group of interacting galaxies.

Illustration by Benito Marcote, presented during his conference talk, depicting one of the MAGIC telescopes and the signal from a Fast Radio Burst detected during the observations.

The "20 MAGIC years" conference (4-7 Oct) and the enigmatic Fast Radio Bursts

09/10/2023
A peek inside the conference "20 MAGIC Years" in La Palma, Spain (4-7 Oct). JIVE support scientist, Benito Marcote, gave an insightful talk on Fast Radio Bursts and the successful synergy of the European VLBI Network (EVN) and the MAGIC telescopes in unveiling the regions where they occur.
The roll-up banner on the Radionet collaboration that Izabela Rottmann prepared and which she presented together with Agnieszka Słowikowska at the conference “Global Dimension and Sustainability of Research Infrastructures” in Tenerife (25-26 Sep).

JIVE Director’s Recent Meetings Review

03/10/2023

 

Nature features today “Precessing jet nozzle connecting to a spinning black hole in M87”. JIVE scientist, Junghwan Oh, co-authors

27/09/2023

 

Two-decade monitoring of M87 unveils a precessing jet connecting to a spinning black hole

 

JIVE at the Polish Astronomical Society Meeting (11-15 Sep). Highlights

20/09/2023

Photo by Patryk Zgubiński

 

radiation belts

European VLBI Network Call for Proposals is open

04/09/2023

 

Observing proposals are invited for the European VLBI Network (EVN). The deadline for proposal submission is 1 October 2023 at 16:00 UTC. See the Call for Proposals text here for full information about the call and how to submit proposals.

CASA VLBI workshop successful

19/06/2023
Where do you go when you want to learn the fine art of calibrating very long baseline interferometry observations? You join the CASA VLBI workshop! The third edition of this event took place from 5 to 9 June 2023, organised and hosted by JIVE.