An international team of scientists has taken unprecedented images of the NRAO 530 quasar using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). The results are published in The Astrophysical Journal.

Astronomers and astrophysicists have studied data taken back in 2017 by telescopes around the world, combined into a single system for the EHT project, which was previously used to generate the first images of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Initially, the data was used for calibration related to the visualization of Sgr A*. Generating an image of the quasar NRAO 530 proved to be more difficult due to the large distance - approximately 7.5 billion light years. However, observations have shown that it is optically active and is also a blazar, that is, a type of quasar that is oriented so that its jets are pointed almost directly at Earth.

The research team was able to create two images showing an increase in brightness at the end of one of the jets, which the researchers believe is a radio core. The resolution was high enough to distinguish between the two core components. The team was also able to measure the polarization of light emitted by various parts of the entire quasar's imaged structure and map the magnetic fields of the jets.