The first photo of a Black hole?

never a black hole has been seen directly. Wanted to change that, a team of researchers with the same eight radio telescopes. They have now announced first results. The science world is in excitement.

World's astronomers are anxiously waiting for the first picture of a Black hole. The mass monsters are like phantoms of the universe. So far, their existence could be detected only in a roundabout way. No telescope was able to scan a black hole directly.

to make An international team of researchers has made a few years ago, with a global telescope network the first shot. On Wednesday afternoon, the project called the Event Horizon Telescope aims to present to six simultaneous press conferences around the globe as a "landmark result".

What to expect?

The astronomers of the Event Horizon Telescope have taken two years ago, two special heavy-weights in the focus: The Black hole at the center of our home galaxy, the milky way, and the much larger in the center of the giant galaxy M87. There's now a "breakthrough result" was announced, suggest many experts, is that at least one of the shots actually succeeded.

What is a black hole?

Black holes are one of the has previously set up the General theory of relativity, which Albert Einstein say about a century ago. In them the mass of some is compressed up to several billion suns, to a point. Due to the immense gravity, therefore the Name can not escape from the immediate vicinity, even light,. Black holes can arise, for example, if a burned-out giant rush star under its own weight.

How can look a picture of a Black hole?

A black hole even for the best telescopes in the invisible. Drawings on the basis of the General theory of relativity often show a black circle with a bright Ring. The inside of this ring marks the so-called event horizon "event horizon", which gave the project its name. It is the place in the vicinity of a Black hole from which even light can escape. You photograph so only the bright Ring around the Black hole.

Why is it glowing event horizon?

Many Black holes of matter, a with. This matter does not fall directly into the Black hole. Instead, it accumulates at an ever faster rotating disk, similar to water in a vortex from the bath flows. In this so-called accretion disk, the matter is by mutual friction of millions of degrees hot, and glows bright, before she disappears into the maw of the gravity monsters.

Why is the scan so difficult?

Black holes have an unimaginable amount of mass, but are very small. A black hole with the mass of our earth would be only as large as a cherry. In addition, the Black holes are very far away: To the center of the milky way, it is 26'000 light years, M87 is roughly 55 million light-years.

A light year is the distance light travels in one year. And these two candidates have horizons as seen from earth, even the largest Event. However, no telescope you can build, which can detect at this distance the Details of the event horizon.

Why should it be able the Event Horizon Telescope?

The researchers combined eight radio telescopes on four continents. Thus, a virtual super-telescope whose diameter is as large as the earth. This virtual Event Horizon Telescope achieved a detail sharpness of a newspaper in New York, the equivalent of Berlin from read. Why use the astronomers radio telescopes?

radio waves are just like visible light, electromagnetic waves, you have a much larger wavelength. Your advantage is that you will not be swallowed up by Gas and dust so strong. The Black holes are usually surrounded by large amounts of Gas and dust, so that the event horizon can only be achieved with radio waves spot.

There is a lot of excitement in the air about the announcement of the first results from the Event Horizon Telescope! We hope many of you will join us for the press event virtually via live online streams. ???? Here is a compact recap of available streaming links:

— Event Horizon 'Scope (@ehtelescope) April 10, 2019

What brings astronomers a picture of a Black hole?

the astronomers want to find out whether the environment of a Black hole actually looks as expected. If it does not, it could indicate a deviation of the physical theory.

on The other, such observations allow a Test of the theory of relativity under the most extreme gravitational conditions in the universe. In addition, many questions about Black holes are not yet clarified, such as the matter swirls right in the throat. Or why some Black holes are a part of this matter before Reaching the event horizon in a sharply focused beam is again thrown. Such findings also have an impact on the image, the Astro physicist, at present, of our universe.

There are already recordings of the radio telescopes of the Black hole in the center of the milky way – but only as a point source. Now with a network of tele-resolution microscopes have been achieved to allow the structures to recognize. Video: Terra X Lesch & Co/Youtube

(oli/sda)

Created: 10.04.2019, 14:03 PM