A highly magnetized twin-jet base pinpoints a supermassive black hole

Supermassive black holes (SMBH) are essential for the production of jets in radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN). Theoretical models based on (Blandford & Znajek 1977, MNRAS, 179, 433) extract the rotational energy from a Kerr black hole, which could be the case for NGC1052, to launch these jets. This requires magnetic fields on the order of 10(3) G to 10(4) G. We imaged the vicinity of the SMBH of the AGN NGC1052 with the Global Millimetre VLBI Array and found a bright and compact central feature that is smaller than 1.9 light days (100 Schwarzschild radii) in radius. Interpreting this as a blend of the unresolved jet bases, we derive the magnetic field at 1 Schwarzschild radius to lie between 200 G and similar to 8.3 x 10(4) G consistent with Blandford & Znajek models.