Its here - the first ever image of a black hole

[Mook]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47873592

It measures 40 billion km across - three million times the size of the Earth - and has been described by scientists as "a monster".

The black hole is 500 million trillion km away and was photographed by a network of eight telescopes across the world.

Details have been published today in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Prof Heino Falcke, of Radboud University in the Netherlands, who proposed the experiment, told BBC News that the black hole was found in a galaxy called M87.

"What we see is larger than the size of our entire Solar System," he said.

"It has a mass 6.5 billion times that of the Sun. And it is one of the heaviest black holes that we think exists. It is an absolute monster, the heavyweight champion of black holes in the Universe."

The image shows an intensely bright "ring of fire", as Prof Falcke describes it, surrounding a perfectly circular dark hole. The bright halo is caused by superheated gas falling into the hole. The light is brighter than all the billions of other stars in the galaxy combined - which is why it can be seen at such distance from Earth.

The edge of the dark circle at the centre is the point at which the gas enters the black hole, which is an object that has such a large gravitational pull, not even light can escape.

Click to read more...

 

[Mook]

The internet is of course going nuts with memes because this is a blurry picture. WHY ISNT IT CLEAR!!

 

[Yaj Yak]

>>> double checked to see which section this was in before opening

 

[Mook]

>>> double checked to see which section this was in before opening

Smart.

 

[Kensington]

So they basically found the eye of Sauron, got it

 

[Yaj Yak]

Is it allowed to terrify me?

Kinda terrify's me.

 

[CMNTMXR57]

When can we get there to colonize it?

 

[Kensington]

When can we get there to colonize it?

Let's shoot Matt Damon at it first

 

[Pressure Ratio]

The internet is of course going nuts with memes because this is a blurry picture. WHY ISNT IT CLEAR!!

"The black hole is 500 million trillion km away..."

Internet: "I bet my iphone would have taken a better picture than that"

 

[Mook]

Exactly

 

[blakbearddelite]

So they took a picture of a major scientific find with a......potato?

 

[Blood on Blood]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47873592

So this is what the inside of Kaley Cuoco’s anus looks like. Nice.

 

[FESTER665]

 

[boostedguy05]

"The black hole is 500 million trillion km away..."

Internet: "I bet my iphone would have taken a better picture than that"

Marko: They must be using a XS. My XR takes better pictures.

 

[Kensington]

NASA's funding has been cut so much it's probably from a 4S :jerkit:

 

[boostedguy05]

Someone go plug the av cable back in

 

[FirstWorldProblems]

Let's shoot Matt Damon at it first

"The black hole is 500 million trillion km away..."

Internet: "I bet my iphone would have taken a better picture than that"

:lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

 

[SMRTSS1]

You sure it’s not a fuzzy pic of a Krispy Kreme donut on a black tablecloth?

 

[MrDragster1970]

.


Been waiting for this.
So it pretty much looks as predicted, except there's no jet expelling material??

.

 

[Kensington]

Event Horizon Telescope (EHT)

 

[Mook]

 

[Mook]

Hubble Space Telescope photograph of the 4,400 light-year long relativistic jet of Messier 87, which is matter being ejected by the 6.4×109 M☉ supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy

 

[Chester Copperpot]

I expect Mass Relays within the next 10 years.

 

[Chet Donnelly]

Yep

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

Yup, i was right. I always thought black holes would be naturally blurry and this finally proves it