The first ever photograph of a black hole was released on April 10, 2019, breaking new ground in understanding the spacetime phenomenons.
The photograph is largely credited to computer scientist Katie Bouman, who developed an algorithm critical to the photo’s capture. To take the picture of the black hole, the Event Horizon Telescope team, which Bouman works for, used eight different grounded radio telescopes. The telescopes were stationed worldwide to get the full image of the black hole.
The Event Horizon Telescope team first proposed the idea of taking a picture of a black hole 20 years ago. However, the gravitational pull of the black hole, which sucked in all light, made the mission difficult.
“I think the picture of the black hole is just the beginning of what they are going to do,” commeted Gabe DeVitis, a former Woodside High School student. He believes that learning about black holes will be beneficial to the future of space knowledge.
In an interview, some of the minds behind the black hole image described their accomplishment “a dream come true,” explaining that the photo “breaks new ground as far as knowledge of the unknown.”
Right now, the black hole photo is breaking new ground. But the Event Horizon Telescope team hopes to accomplish more; next, they plan on taking a video of a black hole.
