Scientists Want to Capture the First Image of a Black Hole

A team of scientists is running a campaign which aims to capture the first photo of a black hole. They started this campaign on April 5^th and it is scheduled to end on April 14^th. Their target is a huge black hole at the center of the Milky Way, which they called Sagittarius A.

This campaign represents the first attempt ever to capture an image of a black hole. This is no easy job, so the scientists are using a variety of advanced radio telescopes in hope that their attempt would be successful. Previous reports stated that this black hole cannot be seen, but it can be felt.

A tough job awaits the telescopes

This team, which is part of the Event Horizon Development, hopes to change that. They are confident that their system of advanced telescopes will be able to catch a glimpse of the huge black hole. Due to its inaccessibility, they have called the event horizon of Sagittarius A the “point of no escape”.

This point of no escape actually represents the gaping void at the center of the black hole. This area absorbs anything, with no possible thing or entity being able to escape. This is why black holes are so hard to be imagined in their entirety, and makes them one of the most questioned and peculiar cosmic objects in the universe.

Of course, this led to the creation of many myths about black holes. Thus, the scientists want to find out more about these strange entities by performing a thorough study of the images. Also, they will once and for all reveal how they look like.

Scientists have more brave plans for the future

However, do not get too excited. They have indeed a set of powerful telescopes, but capturing a black hole is one of the most difficult tasks that a telescope has ever been put through. They represent one of the tiniest objects in the universe, so the telescopes must use all their forces to spot and offer a clear picture of the entity.

This is already a daring project, but the researchers are not planning to stop here. Their next target is M87, a huge black hole situated 53.5 million light-years away from Earth. This entity has a mass 6 billion times bigger than that of the sun, therefore its event horizon must be bigger. However, this will have to wait until all the analyses are performed and the results published in 2018.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons