Why in News
Scientists have unveiled new details of a colossal black hole 53 million lightyears away first photographed by the earth-wide Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) in 2017.
The feat provided the first visual evidence that black holes exist, confirming a fundamental prediction of general relativity.
In a new paper published on January 18, EHT scientists have reported capturing details at the level of the behemoth’s event horizon — the boundary beyond which light from the other side can’t reach an observer — showcasing the formation of a distinct ring around it.
Event Horizon Telescope
The Event Horizon Telescope is a fascinating project that allows us to peer into the heart of supermassive black holes.
It's not a single telescope, but rather a global network of radio telescopes working together like one giant telescope with the size of Earth itself.
This enables EHT to achieve the resolution needed to image the event horizons of these cosmic giants, which are the points of no return where even light cannot escape the black hole's immense gravity.
What it is:
A global network of radio telescopes working together as one giant telescope.
Uses a technique called Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) to combine data from telescopes around the world.
Has an angular resolution high enough to image the event horizons of supermassive black holes.
What it has achieved:
Captured the first-ever image of a black hole in 2019, the one at the center of the Messier 87 galaxy.
In 2022, unveiled the first image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy, Sagittarius A*.
These images provide crucial insights into the nature of black holes and their role in the universe.
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