Article Updated: 15 Apr , 2017by Matt Williams
For decades, scientists have held that Supermassive Black Holes (SMBHs) reside at the center of larger galaxies. These reality-bending points in space exert a extremely powerful influence on all things that surround them, consuming matter and spitting out a tremendous amount of energy. But given their nature, all attempts to study them has been confined to indirect methods.
All of that changed beginning on Wednesday, April 12th, 2017, when an international team of astronomers obtained the first-ever image of a Sagittarius A*. Using a series of telescopes from around the globe ? collectively known as the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) ? they were able to visualize the mysterious region around this giant black hole from which matter and energy cannot escape ? i.e. the event horizon.
Not only is this the first time that this mysterious region around a black hole has been imaged, it is also the most extreme test of Einstein?s Theory of General Relativity ever attempted. It also represents the culmination of the EHT project, which was established specifically for the purpose of studying black holes directly and improving our understanding of them.
Since it began capturing data in 2006, the EHT has been dedicated to the study of Sagitarrius A* since it is the nearest SMBH in the known Universe ? located about 25,000 light years from Earth. Specifically, scientists hoped to determine if black holes are surrounded by a circular region from which matter and energy cannot escape (which is predicted by General Relativity), and how they accrete matter onto themselves.
More:
https://www.universetoday.com/134996/black-hole-imaged-first-time-event-horizon-telescope/
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