The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration has made a groundbreaking advancement in astronomical observation, achieving the highest resolution images of black holes ever obtained from Earth.
A black hole is a place in space where gravity is so strong that that even light cannot escape its pull. According to Nasa, the gravity in black holes is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space.
By detecting light from distant galactic centers, the EHT has pushed the boundaries of ground-based observations, promising to reveal new details about these cosmic phenomena.
This technological leap will not only make existing black hole photographs 50% sharper but also enable multi-color views of the regions immediately surrounding these celestial objects.
When combined with previous images, these new results are expected to provide unprecedented insights into the nature of supermassive black holes, such as those at the hearts of M87 and our own Milky Way galaxy.
“At 345 GHz, our images will be sharper and more detailed, which in turn will likely reveal new properties, both those that were previously predicted and maybe some that weren’t,” explained Alexander Raymond, a co-lead author of the study published in The Astronomical Journal.
The EHT uses very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) to link radio telescopes across the globe, creating a virtual Earth-sized telescope.
This latest achievement marks the first successful use of VLBI at 345 GHz, overcoming significant technical challenges, including increased atmospheric absorption of signals at this frequency.
Sheperd Doeleman, Founding Director of the EHT, likened this advancement to the transition from black-and-white to color photography, emphasising its potential to distinguish between the effects of Einstein’s gravity and the behavior of hot gas and magnetic fields around black holes.
This breakthrough paves the way for future developments, including the planned next-generation EHT project, which aims to create high-fidelity movies of the environment surrounding black holes.
As Lisa Kewley, Director of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, noted, “By pushing the limits of resolution, we’re achieving the unprecedented clarity in the imaging of black holes we promised early on, and setting new and higher standards for the capability of ground-based astrophysical research.”
Source Agencies
