First Image of Black Hole

Image of M87, the black hole in the center of the Messier 87 galaxy. Image courtesy of Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration.

Earlier this year, scientists captured the first image of a black hole. Since black holes suck in light, it is impossible to get a picture of them with normal cameras. Instead, scientists used the Event Horizon Telescope, or EHT, which is a network of radio telescopes set up all around the world, to take the photo. Scientists set up dozens of telescopes in each area across the globe such as the one in Chile pictured below[1].

The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile is just one of many sites that make up the EHT. Image courtesy of NRAO/AUI/NSF.

These sites pointed towards M87 and collected data, effectively turning the entire world into one large camera. This “camera” took in the light that orbits the black hole. The telescopes all simultaneously examined the black hole for a period of four days before scientists processed the data for months to produce the iconic image[1].

This image is so exciting to scientists because it proves once and for all that black holes are real. It may be hard to believe with so many movies and shows talking about black holes, but scientists didn’t know black holes existed until about a century ago when Einstein predicted their existence in 1916. Even Albert Einstein thought his own theories were incorrect and refused to believe in black holes. Now, with this image, the existence of black holes is indisputable, and scientists can test their hypotheses about black holes with concrete information[3]. Advances in science such as these can further technology, such as electricity and magnetism in the use of electronics ranging from whatever device you are using to read this article to MRI machines that can help detect illnesses. While it may seem like a simple image at first glance, the first image of a blackhole marks a historic moment in science that will change society in the future.

Works Cited

[1] https://eventhorizontelescope.org/

- Black Hole Image on top of page

[2] https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/news/2019/4/19/how-scientists-captured-the-first-image-of-a-black-hole/

- Images and information courtesy of NASA

[3] https://public.nrao.edu/gallery/alma-reaches-nineteen/

- ALMA image source.

[4] https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/04/harvard-scientists-shed-light-on-importance-of-black-hole-image/

- Importance of the image