Until now, our visions of black holes have largely been artists concepts (like this one) based on scientific data. Now, we've seen the real deal.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
In the modern space age, when we're planning future habitats on Mars and sending space probes out past the distant reaches of our solar system, it's amazing to think there's still so much we don't know about space.
And black holes represent that great unknown in a nutshell.
But it's always been reassuring to know that, while most of us don't have degrees in astrophysics, the smartest minds on the planet were mostly in the dark on black holes like the rest of us. Until now.
The image of the black hole in the center of Messier 87 galaxy, captured by the Event Horizon Telescope.
Event Horizon Telescope
This week, a team of scientists across the world working for the Event Horizons Telescope revealed the first ever image of a black hole. And while it might look like a blurry orange ring (or a lo-fi Firefox logo), the implications are mind-blowing.
Not only because we can use this data to further explore Einstein's general theory of relativity. Not only because we can study black holes more closely and work out how the laws of physics break down at their center. Not only because it opens the door to more images and more accurate observations coming down the pipeline.
It's exciting because this week we all became astrophysicists, getting to feel the awe of discovery and getting to see what even the brightest minds in the world had never seen before.
I've always found black holes bamboozling. In a world where I can fade a pair of jeans in two washes, how is it possible that anything is so black that we cannot even see it? How can there be parts of space that cram the mass of 20 suns into a region the size of Manhattan?! How can a woman who looks like she's roughly the same age as me take a photo of a warp in space-time?! I'm just stoked to take a half-decent photo of my brunch.
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But when you explore the science behind black holes, you realise that even the smartest people in the world don't have the answers.
We don't know what's in the middle of a black hole and we don't fully understand how they behave. All of us are in the same boat here — learning about these things for thRead More – Source
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