ALMA image of M87 jet in polarised light

This image shows a view of the jet in the Messier 87 (M87) galaxy in polarised light. The image was obtained with the Chile-based Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner, and captures the part of the jet, with a size of 6000 light years, closer to the centre of the galaxy. The lines mark the orientation of polarisation, which is related to the magnetic field in the region imaged. This ALMA image therefore indicates what the structure of the magnetic field along the jet looks like.