Astronomers are trying to capture the first photograph of a black hole, having a direct view of such an amazing celestial object. Their project has begun. Starting from April 5 until April 14, astronomers will develop a campaign to capture the first photograph ever of a black hole. They will use a system of radio telescopes located around the globe which will directly observe the massive cosmic object at the center of the Milky Way called Sagittarius A*.
- Scientists are working on capturing the first photograph of a black hole.
- Their project is called Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) and they are bound to link several observatories from various locations on Earth.
- Astronomers hope to capture the event horizon of the massive black hole.
This black hole is four million times bigger than the sun. Scientists are hopeful, believing that they will capture Sagittarius A* horizon, meaning the point in which not even light can escape. Researchers explain that the interior of a black hole cannot be photographed since the light cannot get through. Gopal Narayanan, an astronomy research professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, argued that if they manage to capture the black hole, then this will certainly help them develop new theories about black holes because they will gather more data.
The new scientific project is known as the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), and it is prone to correlate observatories in Antarctica, Spain, Chile, Mexico, California, Arizona, and Hawaii to build the equivalent of a radio tool of the size of our whole planet. Such an instrument is needed to make possible the imaging of the event horizon of Sagittarius A* which is located at 26,000 light-years away from Earth. Narayanan stated that their effort is like trying to capture the photo of a grapefruit situated on the moon’s surface.
During this campaign, the Event Horizon Telescope is also prone to take a look at the supermassive black hole situated at the center of the M87 galaxy which is located at 53.5 million light-years from our planet. The mass of this huge black hole is approximately 6 billion times larger than that of our sun. Narayanan explained that its event horizon is certainly bigger than the one of Sagittarius A*.
This data should help astronomers find out the spin, the mass and several other characteristics of supermassive black holes now that they benefit from advanced technology which offers them a better precision. Researchers are bound to determine more about the way the material grows into circles black holes. They will also study the mechanisms of the jets of plasma which emerge from these giants.
Image courtesy of: wikipedia
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