Contents page 1 — So a black hole really looks from page 2 — Essential: a telescope as big as the earth On a page
You take a dazzling spiral of light, inside yellow, outside reddish, the umwabert a black ball, which in turn is a glimmering beam of light shoot out – finished is the Black hole. At least on the Computer. Because, like Black holes look like, researchers have simulated so far. Seen such a galactic mass monsters of the universe until a few months ago, no one had.
but Now there is certainty: An international team of researchers has taken a black hole, strictly speaking, its direct surroundings. The image shows for the first time, authentic what could Express the physicist Albert Einstein, only with the intricate formulas of his General theory of relativity.
It is the portrait of the super-heavy behemoths in the center of the galaxy Messier 87. And so, this first look at a black hole shows once again: Einstein’s more than a century-old theories are still discoveries. And for great achievements, it takes all the technology of mankind, is still a huge effort.
© Jakob Börner Alina harmful angle
to the author of the page
Today at 15:07 Central European time, the Team of the Event Horizon telescope (EHT) has presented the recording. Clearly shows the intense circle of light that surrounds the Black hole in the center of M87, and thus a clear-cut hole.
Meticulously planned the presentation and in a big way staged. “Breakthrough” was announced by the European southern Observatory. Since a few months the experts had expected the Image already. Finally, it was known that the researchers sought to researchers, to deliver the first real shooting with a Black hole and you have, in the meantime, reports of successful measurements.
The presentation took place at the same time on six press conferences in Brussels, Washington, Santiago de Chile, Tokyo, Taipei and Shanghai. The publication of several ongoing studies in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters at the same time. In it the author describe the inside and the authors detail the project, the instruments, calibration, imaging, supplementary simulations and provide an interpretation of the results. “The history of science will share in the time before and after the image”, it was said at the press conference.
What a breakdown! However, a lot of understanding should be, the researchers succeeded where humanity has so far failed: a picture of something that is kind of nothing and yet so gigantic a lot.
The gloss of the Invisible
Black holes have no surface, such as a Planet. Rather, each hole is a Region in space in which the matter is in itself. There is a lot of mass is concentrated at a lot of tiny small space that is curved, therefore, strong. Because he is so severely bent, in turn, has a huge appeal. Nothing can escape from a Black hole is not a particle of light, not a Photon penetrates to the earth. From time to time, however, escapes from the poles of the hole perpendicular to the disc standing cone of Radiation, measurements close. Such a Jet could be the source of radio radiation as it emerges from the hole in the center of our galaxy (Astrophysical Journal: Issaoun et al., 2019).
© Martin Bernetti/AFP/
about 3,500 terabytes of data collected by the researchers.
The point of no return for light particle astrophysicists call the event horizon. From here, a black hole swallows everything. What is happening behind him, is beyond any direct observation. However, until there is something to see. Because of the large mass of Black holes not only leads to the fact that light is deflected, but it sucks in Gas and dust that surround it, on spiral paths. The Material disappears, although in the end, also in the hole, on the way there however, a bright circle of light. Exactly this has included the EHT Team now. A historical performance.
The direct views of the event horizon makes it possible to test Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity and alternative gravitational theories in the most extreme conditions fundamentally. Although researchers using the Laser had detected interferometer LIGO already Einstein’s suspected gravitational waves – there were 2017 the Nobel prize in physics, and scientists at the Max-Planck-Institute for extraterrestrial physics, it was managed last year to observe the Einstein’s predicted gravitational redshift (Astronomy & Astrophysics: Genzel et al., 2018). And, not least, simulated researchers of the project BlackHoleCam for the first time realistic images of a Black hole according to Einstein’s theories and compared with other simulations, which were calculated by using the other gravity theories – interestingly, can you hardly differ (Nature Astronomy: Mizuno et al., 2018). The last proof, however, the direct observation of a Black hole, from a stand still.
Black holes are enormous, but also quite far away from the earth, obscured by interstellar dust. Although Astronomer can and Astro situate a physicist more of the galactic mass monster in the universe-and to their telescopes to tell you, the EHT Team is only two potentially portrait suitable for: Sagittarius A*, for short-Sgr A*, as well as Virgo A the brightest radio sources in the constellations of Sagittarius and Virgo.
Black holes from Einstein to EHT Black holes – it started with Einstein
the history of The origin of the first image of a Black hole begins more than a century ago. 1915-Albert Einstein presents his General theory of relativity. Accordingly, space and time are malleable. Einstein stated that matter could be making a dent in the space-time. A matter, the deeper the Dent, the following applies: The heavier and denser. Accordingly, an extremely dense mass can warp space-time so strongly that a Region is created, in which everything disappears. the
A year later, the German astronomer Karl Schwar published zschild the solution of Einstein’s field equations. He described at that time already all the essential features of Black holes including the event horizon. In his paper the gravitational field of a homogeneous, non-charged and non-rotating ball. Only at the end of the sixties, the Relativist and astronomer John Archibald Wheeler introduced the term “black hole”.
