Storiascopio · Era 12 of 12 · lower secondary year 3
The first image of a black hole
2019 · Galaxy M87, observed by eight radio telescopes around the world (including ALMA, in Chile)
In short
A black hole has such strong gravity that not even light can escape from it, which is why it cannot be seen directly. By linking eight radio telescopes scattered around the world, the scientists of the Event Horizon Telescope created the equivalent of a telescope almost as big as the Earth. On 10 April 2019 they showed the first image of the shadow of a black hole, surrounded by a bright ring. It lies at the centre of the galaxy M87, about 55 million light years away, and has a mass of 6.5 billion Suns.
Why it matters It confirmed with a real image what Einstein's theory of relativity predicted.
Source: ESO, “Astronomers Capture First Image of a Black Hole” (press release eso1907)
Where we are in the era “Today”
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
1953Event 23 of 252022
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/the-first-image-of-a-black-hole/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class