Scientists Have Just Released the First Ever Image of a Black Hole
The groundbreaking image was taken in the galaxy M87, a place that is, according to Professor Heino Falcke of Radboud University in the Netherlands, larger than our entire solar system. The galaxy also just so happens to house a HUGE black hole.
“[The black hole] has a mass 6.5 billion times that of the Sun. And it is one of the heaviest black holes that we think exists,” Professor Falcke told BBC News. “It is an absolute monster, the heavyweight champion of black holes in the Universe.”
The black hole, which through a series of ultra-vivid and mysteriously-dark hues, is illustrated in the image above. The bright orange halo surrounding the hole is referred to by scientists as a “ring of fire,” a zone where superheated gasses get trapped. Alternately, the deep-black in the center is the point where the gases get sucked through, a natural event which, until today, had never been captured before.
Unsurprisingly, this is considered to be one of the biggest events to occur in the scientific community in recent memory. In fact, the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, the team that was able to pull off this feat, actually did so with the help of 200 collaborators around the globe. That’s a lot of teamwork!
To learn even more about this revolutionary shot, and to hear from the scientists who were able to capture it, be sure to watch the video below. You won’t believe how much effort was put into taking this otherworldly snapshot.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on this story. Are you amazed that this black hole shot was able to be successfully captured? Do you think it will change the way the world sees astronomy? What’s one elusive event that you wish scientists could document one day?
