We present the first polarimetric space very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) imaging observations at 22 GHz. BLLacertae was observed in 2013 November 10 with the RadioAstron space VLBI mission, including a ground array of 15 radio telescopes. The instrumental polarization of the space radio telescope is found to be less than 9%, demonstrating the polarimetric imaging capabilities of RadioAstron at 22 GHz. Ground-space fringes were obtained up to a projected baseline distance of 7.9Earth diameters in length, allowing us to image the jet in BLLacertae with a maximum angular resolution of 21 μas, the highest achieved to date. We find evidence for emission upstream of the radio core, which may correspond to a recollimation shock at about 40 μas from the jet apex, in a pattern that includes other recollimation shocks at approximately 100 and 250 μas from the jet apex. Polarized emission is detected in two components within the innermost 0.5 mas from the core, as well as in some knots 3 mas downstream. Faraday rotation analysis, obtained from combining RadioAstron 22 GHz and groundbased 15 and 43 GHz images, shows a gradient in rotation measure and Faraday-corrected polarization vector as a function of position angle with respect to the core, suggesting that the jet in BLLacertae is threaded by a helical magnetic field. The intrinsic de-boosted brightness temperature in the unresolved core exceeds 3 10 12 K, suggesting, at the very least, departure from equipartition of energy between the magnetic field and radiating particles.

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Observations of active galactic nuclei and microquasars by ASCA, RXTE, Chandra and XMM–Newton indicate the existence of wide X‐ray emission lines of heavy ionized elements in their spectra. The emission can arise in the inner parts of accretion discs where the effects of general relativity must be counted; moreover, such effects can dominate. We describe a procedure to estimate an upper limit of the magnetic fields in the regions where X‐ray photons are emitted. We simulate typical profiles of the iron Kα line in the presence of a magnetic field and compare them with observational data. As an illustration, we find H < 1010–1011 Gs for Seyfert galaxy MCG–6‐30‐15. Using the perspective facilities of measurement devices (e.g. Constellation‐X mission) a better resolution of the blue peak structure of the iron Kα line will allow us to find the value of the magnetic fields if the latter are high enough.

Millimetron is a Russian-led 12 m diameter submillimeter and far-infrared space observatory which is included in the Space Plan of the Russian Federation for launch around 2017. With its large collecting area and state-of-the-art receivers, it will enable unique science and allow at least one order of magnitude improvement with respect to the Herschel Space Observatory. Millimetron will be operated in two basic observing modes: as a single-dish observatory, and as an element of a groundExp Astron (2009) space very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) system. As single-dish, angular resolutions on the order of 3 to 12 arc sec will be achieved and spectral resolutions of up to a million employing heterodyne techniques. As VLBI antenna, the chosen elliptical orbit will provide extremely large VLBI baselines (beyond 300,000 km) resulting in micro-arc second angular resolution.

We have resolved the scatter-broadened image of PSR B0329+54 and detected substructure within it. These results are not influenced by any extended structure of a source but instead are directly attributed to the interstellar medium. We obtained these results at 324 MHz with the ground-space interferometer RadioAstron which included the space radio telescope (SRT), ground-based Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope and 64-m Kalyazin Radio Telescope on baseline projections up to 330,000 km in 2013 November 22 and 2014 January 1 to 2. At short 15,000 to 35,000 km groundspace baseline projections the visibility amplitude decreases with baseline length providing a direct measurement of the size of the scattering disk of 4.8 ± 0.8 mas. At longer baselines no visibility detections from the scattering disk would be expected. However, significant detections were obtained with visibility amplitudes of 3 to 5% of the maximum scattered around a mean and approximately constant up to 330,000 km. These visibilities reflect substructure from scattering in the interstellar medium and offer a new probe of ionized interstellar material. The size of the diffraction spot near Earth is 17, 000 ± 3, 000 km. With the assumption of turbulent irregularities in the plasma of the interstellar medium, we estimate that the effective scattering screen is located 0.6 ± 0.1 of the distance from Earth toward the pulsar.