John Michell, an English clergyman and geologist, suggested the existence of a black-hole-type object in 1784 in the journal “Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London”. He christened it “dark star” during his baptism. Albert Einstein predicted the existence of black holes in 1915. They have been known as that since the 1960s. In 2017, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), captured the first black hole. It is a gigantic with 6.5 billion solar mass and is located in the middle of a galaxy 53,000,000 light years distant. Today’s first photo of Sagittarius A* (the one located at the center the Milky Way, 27,000 lightyears away) has been shown.
What is a “black hole”?
This is because there is so much matter in the region that it generates a gravitational force that no light or matter can escape. This is why it is called “black”. This object seems to absorb all matter and energy around it. This is why the “hole” was created.
What is the formation of a black hole?
After burning all their fuel, some stars explode and collapse, sucking matter and energy from the surrounding universe. They become more fatter as they eat.
Artist’s impression showing a black hole that devours a star. / IT’S
What are the different types of black holes?
There are two types: the stellar ones, which can have tens to thousands of solar masses, and the supermassive ones such as Sagittarius A*. Astrophysicists believe many galaxies contain a supermassive dark hole at their centers.
Which is the largest known?
TON 618 has 66,000,000,000 solar masses. It is situated in the middle of a galaxy that lies 10.4 billion light-years from us. It measures 390,000,000,000 km, which is 2,600 times as far as the Earth from Sun and 43 times that distance from Neptune.
Where is Sagittarius A* located?
Our galaxy is located in the middle of the Milky Way. It lies approximately 27,000 light-years from the constellation Sagittarius. The Milky Way spans approximately 106,000 light years and contains between 100 billion and 400 million stars. In the Orion Arm, we are half way between the center of the galaxy and its edge. Every 240 million years, the Sun orbits around the center galaxy of the Milky Way.
What is the size of Sagittarius A*
Recent studies have shown that it is 4 million solar masses in diameter and has a length of 12 million km, which is 30 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon. The M87 black hole, which is 1,600 times larger than the first, has 6.5 billion solar mass.
The Event Horizon Telescope is made up of eight observatories, which together form a network. / NRAO/AUI/NSF
What are the events in the horizon?
It is the boundary that separates space from the interior of a blackhole. Everything that crosses this border appears to disappear and will never escape the black hole.
What is the Event Horizon Telescope, (EHT)?
A global collaboration was established in 2015 to obtain the first direct images from black holes. These objects emit no light so the goal is to get images of the event Horizon, which is the edge of the black holes. The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a virtual observatory that consists of eight radio telescopes located around the globe. These telescopes – Chile (2) and the United States (3), Mexico, Antarctica, Spain, and Mexico – work together to create images of the black hole. EHT resolution would allow newspapers to be opened in New York from Paris. The Spanish radio telescope is located at 2,850m in Sierra Nevada (Granada), and is called the IRAM Pico Veleta Observatory.
How many scientists work for the EHT?
There are more than 350 researchers worldwide. The collaboration includes 13 institutions, where scientists from over 100 institutions across the Americas, Europe and Africa participate.
Guide based on information from the EHT consortium
