A first-of-its-kind photograph of a black hole at the center of a galaxy has been achieved thanks to an international collaboration

The scientists of the "Event Horizon" telescope (EHT) - an array of eight ground-based radio telescopes that cooperated together to study black holes managed to take a first-of-its-kind image of a black hole

A first-of-its-kind photograph of a black hole at the center of the galaxy M87 by the EHT telescope array, which combines eight large telescopes from around the world. Photo: ESO
A first-of-its-kind photograph of a black hole at the center of the galaxy M87 by the EHT telescope array, which combines eight large telescopes from around the world. Photo: ESO

The scientists of the "Event Horizon Telescope" (EHT) - an array of eight ground-based radio telescopes that cooperated together to study black holes - managed to take the first image of a black hole of its kind.

In fact, this is the first visual proof of a massive black hole and its shadow. This breakthrough was announced yesterday in a series of six articles published in a special issue of Astrophysical Letters/ The image reveals the black hole at the center of the galaxy M87. It is a huge galaxy in the Virgo galaxy cluster, located 55 million light-years from Earth and having a mass of 6.5 billion times the mass of the Sun.

EHT connects telescopes all over the world to create a virtual telescope the size of the entire Earth. Thus, this array makes it possible to study the most extreme objects in the universe, as Einstein predicted in the theory of general relativity. "This is an extraordinary scientific achievement carried out by a team of more than 200 researchers.

"Black holes are extraordinary cosmic objects with a huge mass but very compact dimensions. The presence of these objects affects their environment in extreme ways, they distort space-time and heat all the surrounding matter. If there is a bright region near the black hole, a disk of luminous gas , we expect the black hole to create a shadow-like dark region predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity but never seen before. Heino Faleh, chairman of the scientific council of EHT, from Redbaud University in the Netherlands explained. "This shadow is caused by the bending of gravity and the trapping of light by the event horizon and it reveals a lot about the nature of these fascinating objects and allowed us to measure the mass of the black hole at the center of M87. Multiple calibration and imaging methods revealed a ring-like structure with a dark area in the center - this shadow of the black hole, imaged in multiple EHT observations.

"Once we were confident that we were able to image the shadow, we compared our observations to extensive computer models that include the physics conditions of warped space, material at very high temperatures and strong magnetic fields. Many of the features in the imaged core match our theoretical understanding surprisingly well," says Paul Hu, board member EHT and the director of the East Asia Observatory. "This makes us confident about the interpretation of our observations, including evaluation ours of the black hole mass. "The comparison between theory and observations is always a dramatic moment for a theorist. It was a relief and a source of pride when the observations matched our predictions with a high degree of agreement," said EHT board member Lucia Razzola of Goethe University, Germany.

The participating telescopes in the EHT project are: ALMA, APEX, IRAM 30-meter telescope, James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, Large Millimeter Telescope Alfonso Serrano, Submillimeter Array, Submillimeter Telescope, South Pole Telescope. Dedicated supercomputers operated for the project at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and MIT's Haystack Observatory. The creation of the EHT was a challenge in itself that required upgrading and linking a global network of eight existing telescopes, in a variety of high altitude areas. These locations include volcanoes in Hawaii and Mexico, mountains in Arizona and Sierra Nevada in Spain, the Atacama Desert in Chile and even Antarctica.

For the message of the European Southern Observatory (ESO)

More of the topic in Hayadan:

Comments

  1. We are not the world, where have you disappeared to?

    The conclusion that the relationship between the radius and mass of a black hole is similar to the relationship between the radius and the mass of the universe can be reached from the writings of Denis Shaima and also from the article:

    https://link.springer.com
    /article/10.1007%2FBF02186206

    On the other hand, the universe is quite sparse - a few protons per cubic meter - so it seems to me that the issue is closed.

  2. Our Israelis:
    "So how is it that our universe, observed or beyond, is almost as compressed as a black hole?"
    - So it's exactly the opposite.
    In my opinion, the density of the primordial black hole (which is our universe {all assuming, of course}) is similar or compatible with the density of the entire universe. Just need to check it out… ahhh….. do you have a calculator?

    The material disintegrates at the margins of the HAS. And from the margins, the material eventually disintegrates like a kind of pearl necklace when each pearl (seems like a photon) disintegrates in turn from the chain. Where do these photons disappear to? That is the question. Do they fade away along the way..? After all, there are Those who manage to escape..
    There lies the whole problem in understanding the black hole. The photons become a kind of singular point (that is, a point in space that cannot even be explained mathematically. Or a mathematical plotter)?
    That's my opinion at least. I may also have been talking nonsense. Please respond gently.

  3. The question was about density, kg per cubic meter.

    I'm at work now, I'll check the numbers when I get home. It seems unlikely to me that the density of the universe, that is, specific gravity, is close to that of a black hole.

  4. Israel
    A black hole has a center - a point in space. The universe has no center. So already, the situation is different.
    There is an "inside" and an "outside" of a black hole, the universe has no outside.
    The bodies in a black hole are getting closer - in the universe they are moving away.
    That is - the singularity in a black hole is in the future, and in the universe is in the past.

    That is, even though the numbers are similar, the universe is distinctly different from a black hole. I think the most important difference is the first point.

  5. Yoda

    Why would elastic collisions cause warming?

    Miracles

    I thought to Tommy that in black holes the matter is quite compressed (for the Earth to be a black hole its radius should be less than a centimeter).

    So how is it that our universe, observed or beyond, is compressed almost like a black hole?

  6. For miracles and Israel
    Before I get into arguments about plastic or elastic and friction and heating, the only conclusion I come to is that I must find a way and conduct my experiment. That will settle the whole argument.
    A deep vacuum device is needed in which the experiment will be done.
    Does anyone have an idea?
    Yehuda
    http://yekumpashut.freevar.com/

  7. Yehuda
    "Question - doesn't it contradict the laws of thermodynamics that particles colliding with each other heat themselves?"

    This contradicts the law of conservation of energy... and certainly the laws of thermodynamics.

  8. Israel
    The calculation is based on the same physics that leads to a black hole. So you can't have one without the other.
    The calculation only talks about the visible universe, and not beyond that, so this number will be different at different times.

    I didn't understand what Darshani was saying. The angular size of the sun and also the moon is 30 minutes. Does it also mean preachy?

  9. Yehuda
    What buried La Sage's model is the plastic collisions. The temperature it would have created is so high that all the planets would have vaporized instantly.

    The Big Bang doesn't start with a singularity! In the model of general relativity there is indeed sinogularity at time 0, but it is not the big bang!

    You need to explain what your particles are, and how they were created. What is their source of energy? Are they fermions or bosons? Leptons or quarks?

    In which particles do they collide? What is the source of the force between them and the particles? What are their properties - charge, isospin spin, strangeness, color and so on.

    If your particles are light - then how come they haven't been discovered in accelerators yet?

  10. Israel
    Question - doesn't it contradict the laws of thermodynamics that particles colliding with each other heat themselves? So why doesn't the atmosphere burn?? I don't see something in your insistence on the anti-elastic!!
    It seems to me that just as the atmosphere lives in peace with the collisions, so will my pushing particles live with the collisions!
    Just like that, a comment before noon Ariva!
    Bye
    Yehuda
    http://yekumpashut.freevar.com/

  11. Miracles

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observable_universe

    The mass of the baryonic universe: 4.5 times 51^10 kg.

    Note that a calculation that includes the dark mass and energy leads approximately (one-series factor) to a result similar to the calculation of the mass of a black hole, even though the powers of ten range from 51 to minus 11.

    The calculation is not mine but that of Dennis Schieme and Prof. Woodward of Fullerton.

    Don't say preachy?

    Yoda

    Non-elastic collisions will tire and exhaust the poor particles and greatly heat up the dragged bodies.

  12. Dear Nissim and Israel

    I really don't understand my insistence on elastic collision actually? What's wrong with plastic collisions? After all, the universe does not operate at absolute zero and it could be that 2.73 degrees Kelvin originates not only from the big bang but also from pushing. To remind you, I am not a follower of the exploding singular point from which everything started, so maybe there is also a place for "pushing global warming".
    And that's why I wanted to do the experiment to prove the elastic and/or plastic pushing principle and see if it even works. A quick inquiry into buying a deep vacuum machine showed me that it is a device that costs at least several tens of thousands of dollars and I regret to admit that I have other purposes for such an input.
    But if we all agree (and also Richard Feynman) that the plastic pushing works, and if the 2.73 Kelvin can be partially explained by the aforementioned pushing, then come to Zion Goel and the scarce funds will be saved for another experiment, perhaps.

    Not for a quote, I still believe in elastic pushing but maybe that's just a clearly unacceptable insistence, stemming from the unruly Turkish genes celebrating in my DNA.

    So please your gentle response.
    Happy and kosher Passover to you and all the science responders.
    Yehuda
    http://yekumpashut.freevar.com/

  13. Israel
    Let's start with the fact that Pushing gives an explanation that it doesn't work.
    Shouldn't that be enough to disqualify the idea?

    Let's add to that that a change in the laws of gravity does not completely solve the dark matter problem - according to Wikipedia.

    The theories of relativity solve problems such as the slowing down of time, lengthening, the bending of light, the speed of gravitational waves and so on.

    We will add - that pushing does not explain how gravity acts on individual atoms.

    And in addition - what are these particles? Something outside the standard model? Shall we throw him away too? Why is persistence mass equal to gravity mass??

    About black holes. I don't know what you are talking about. How do we know the mass of the universe??

  14. Pushing gives an explanation for gravity. Even Feynman says that this was the last attempt to explain it, and today there is no explanation but only description and equations.

    This does not mean that the explanation is correct, Yoda still did not explain how elastic collisions can produce gravity.

    And what about what I posted before? How can it be that the ratio between the radius of a black hole and its mass is the same as the ratio between the radius of the universe and its mass except for a factor of 2?

  15. Israel
    Einstein's equations are mathematics. They describe how space affects mass (essentially - energy) and how mass affects space.
    As in Feynman's dramatic lecture, one can always peel back another layer of reality. For example - Einstein explained the photoelectric phenomenon using photons and electrons, so the questions remain "what is a photon and what is an electron". So you can say that these are probability amplitudes in a certain space, and then again you can ask...

    In the end, perhaps, there is only mathematics. Or – maybe that's all we'll ever know.

  16. Israel
    I agree. There is nothing beyond mathematics. I mean - I don't know anything like that.

    At the end there is a wave function that describes the universe. And that's it. That's all we think we know…

  17. Yehuda
    You are the one who claimed that the collisions are elastic. Did you change your mind?

    And if there is friction - where is the warming?

    Dark matter explains things beyond the rotation of galaxies, such as gravitational churning.

    In addition, there are observations that show that Einstein's equations (leave Newton's... ) explain well at vast distances, distances of the limit of our universe. Changes in gravity as you describe are hidden in these observations. This is not my claim - but that of cosmologists who should understand...

  18. Yoda is her brother-in-law

    Pushing has this problem of elastic collisions..

    But this does not mean that there is some other more successful explanation.

  19. Israel
    I agree with you!,
    Like it or not, only pushing gravity is an attempt at a physical explanation of gravity. Newton and general relativity are a mathematical model of the behavior of gravity, not an explanation of it.
    The friction of the pushing could eliminate this explanation if the system was closed, but in an open system where pushing particles constantly flow into it, the friction cannot prevent this explanation just as the friction with the air and water will not prevent a sailing ship from moving as long as there is a wind. We talked about it many times!
    good evening.
    Please respond gently.
    Yehuda
    http://yekumpashut.freevar.com/

  20. Miracles
    To prove Newton's laws all galaxies must work according to Newton's laws and not just one or two by chance! A box containing rotten fruit can also happen to contain unrotten fruit! On my website I showed that with the help of pressure difference the movement of all galaxies can be explained, even the movement of those that do not work according to Newton's laws such as M51, or N891.
    And regarding the singularity, it was calculated according to Newton's formula which was tested at distances of fractions of light years and found to be correct, but was not tested in huge and dense masses near the black hole, therefore the conclusions from it near the black hole are with a very limited guarantee. Therefore the conclusions about the black holes are most likely incorrect. The first articles in my blog explain this uncertainty.
    And regarding the question about friction, it does exist. Be specific in your question if it belongs to the topic here.
    good night im going to sleep
    Yehuda
    http://yekumpashut.freevar.com/

  21. Yehuda
    If there is a galaxy that does operate according to Newton's laws - doesn't that contradict your proof?

    And regarding a black hole - the singularity is not something physical, but the result of a mathematical calculation.

    And you still haven't explained to me how force is created without friction...

  22. for miracles
    Indeed an interesting article about strange galaxies that behave exactly according to Newton (NGC1032 DF2). But you didn't tell me anything. A long time ago I dealt with such a galaxy M94 (article 78 on my website section e) which also rotates according to Newton and does not need dark matter.
    But dear miracles, I also discovered two more odd galaxies M51 and galaxy N891 (articles 80, 82, on my blog). There, the visible bully Massten is supposed to create a speed greater than their existing rotational speed, no dark matter will allow this (perhaps "negative dark matter" .).
    On the other hand, I proved there that movement according to the force of the pressure difference (which does not act according to the square of the distance), will explain this well!
    For N891, even negative dark matter will not help.

    And to my dear friend Israel Shapira
    I don't like physical beings ending or starting their lives as singular points so I think their evolution needs correction. It is true that Newton's law of gravitation continues up to the distance of a point, but no one can confirm to me that this is reality. I think blacks blacks are the densest bodies in the universe but not infinite density.
    La Sage and my simple universe with the Fushig don't like it.
    Yom Tov Nissim and Israel.
    Please respond gently. Thanks
    Yehuda
    http://yekumpashut.freevar.com/

  23. Yoda their cousin

    What do you have against black holes? Or universe puppies? Or stray cats? Lesage pretty much requires it, which areas in space where the matter is so compressed that they stop all the particles, so why Bibi?

    Or maybe you believe that they won't find a hole because there is no hole?

    From hole to hole, our strength will prevail.

  24. Israel my dear friend,
    and miracles,
    Peace and blessings!

    First of all Happy holiday!!

    Shocked and surprised about your "naughty" conclusion that our poor universe is a black hole when every average alien knows that the matter in our universe is not concentrated in a singular point????
    We will ask again: does a black hole even exist??? After all, it was already quoted in G's first response about a man named Yehuda (Sevdarmish??) who talks about finger-picked hypotheses of teachings that can never be substantiated because all they do is speculate based on unsubstantiated laws in a turbulent environment like that of black holes, and apparently , no good luck…..
    And here it is, press conferences, which constitute a "legitimate" strengthening of science!
    After all, the great scientist Redmore Bibi already said that if you repeat an unfounded thing many times, it will taste like substantiation!!!.
    In this context, also see our beloved, the splendor of science, - the "dark donkey" whose youths are heard under every fresh tree and above every scientific cathedral eighty years into the glory of our dark universe, and has already been accepted as the absolute truth strictly by everyone (except that one, Sabdarmish)
    So, my friend Israel, happy and kosher holiday, go, to miracles, to all the responders of knowledge
    And in general to all the people of Israel.
    Please respond in moderation, it's just science!
    Yehuda
    http://yekumpashut.freevar.com/

  25. Radius of a black hole:

    R=2GM/c^2

    But this is, with the exception of factor 2, also the ratio between the mass of the observed universe and its radius more or less..

    So is the universe also a kind of black hole?

    Because the universe is quite empty and a black hole is a bit compressed..

    And whoever falls into a black hole becomes elongated like spaghetti, and in Bicomino it remains a donut like before.

    So how does it work out?

    ?
    ??
    ??! ??

  26. I didn't understand it from every direction you see a disc? You've always said it's a two fem dimension black hole. Three dimensional life? No 3 dimensions?

  27. Michal, the black spot in the center is the "shadow" + the black hole itself. The black hole itself is only 1/9 the size of the black spot. The glowing ring around it is indeed gas under the influence of the enormous gravity of the black hole. The gas "falls" towards the black hole, and as a result of enormous friction it heats up to very constant temperatures and emits the light we see.

    There are many other interesting phenomena that can be seen in the picture.
    Doppler effect: because the gas moves in circles, and some of it moves faster in our direction than the rest of the gas, we see the difference in light intensity.

  28. If I understood correctly - in the photo you see a picture from 55 million years ago...
    The question is whether it is possible that since then this black hole has reached a critical mass that allows for a big bang.
    In other words - it is possible that at this moment there is a young galaxy in place of the black hole from 55 million years ago that we see here in the picture

  29. Can someone explain for the benefit of the laymen - if the dim center of the photographed ring is a shadow caused by the black hole (by trapping light and gravitational effects), what is the meaning of the ring of light itself? From the explanation I understand that this is some kind of accumulation of glowing gas. But what causes its round shape? Is it also a product of the "forces" that the black hole exerts on its environment?

  30. Yehuda wrote
    "Theories hypothesize what the situation might be in a place we have not yet measured, but if the formulated behavior or the theory will be as predicted or "prophesied"?, only the measurements will prove that!"

    And Paul Ho said:
    "Once we were confident that we were able to image the shadow, we compared our observations to extensive computer models that include the physics conditions of warped space, material at very high temperatures and strong magnetic fields. Many of the features in the imaged core match our theoretical understanding surprisingly well."

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