Astrophysics Webinar

Future incarnations of the Event Horizon Telescope are poised to deliver clearer, higher-contrast, multi-wavelength movies of M87* and Sgr A*. In this talk, we will explore the potential to detect their photon rings, what these discoveries could reveal about black holes, and the challenges that lie ahead. 

The Blandford-Znajek mechanism, which explains the formation and energetics of jets, is an electromagnetic analog of the Penrose process. We will also examine how upcoming observations could confirm the operation of the BZ mechanism, providing evidence that energy can be extracted from spinning black holes through classical processes.