{"id":788211,"date":"2024-09-02T07:54:50","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T12:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=788211"},"modified":"2024-09-02T07:54:50","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T12:54:50","slug":"direct-black-hole-images-that-are-50-clearer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=788211","title":{"rendered":"Direct black hole images that are 50% clearer?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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View full image. | Computer simulation from the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (EHT) of what a new-and-improved image of a black hole might look like, at the 0.87-millimeter wavelength. These scientists say their new technique will soon let them produce direct black hole images with 50% better clarity than what\u2019s now possible. Image via ESO\/ Christian M. Fromm\/ Julius-Maximilian University.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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  • The first direct images of black holes<\/strong> were obtained in in 2019 and 2022. Astronomers used the Event Horizon Telescope, a network of radio telescopes, which worked together to function as one giant Earth-sized telescope.<\/li>\n
  • Are better direct images of black holes possible?<\/strong> These scientists say yes. They just tested a new technique on distant galaxies. They say the same method can be used to image black holes directly.<\/li>\n
  • They expect 50% better clarity<\/strong> on future direct black hole images, thanks to their new method. These future images are expected to help solve long-standing mysteries about black holes. For example, how do they attract matter? And how do they launch their powerful jets?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    In 2019 and 2022, the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (EHT) released the first-ever direct images of black holes. They used a technique called very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), essentially linking multiple radio telescopes around the globe to form one giant \u201cEarth-sized\u201d telescope. Even then, the resolution possible was limited. So these scientists have now tested a new approach, using shorter wavelengths of light. And, on August 26, 2024, they said their new method will let them obtain direct black hole images with 50% better resolution (clarity) than before.<\/p>\n

    The researchers used the ALMA telescope in Chile and other facilities in their test. They published their peer-reviewed results in The Astronomical Journal<\/em> on August 27, 2024.<\/p>\n

    Blurry 1st direct black hole images<\/h3>\n

    Those first direct images of black holes, in 2019 and 2022, were exciting! One showed the supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy M87, some 54 million light-years away. And the other showed the supermassive black hole Sgr A* at the heart of our own Milky Way galaxy. <\/p>\n

    Those images represented the outer limit of what the linked radio telescopes could achieve at the time. Alexander Raymond at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California explained:<\/p>\n

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    With the EHT, we saw the first images of black holes using the 1.3-millimeter wavelength observations. But the bright ring we saw, formed by light bending in the black hole\u2019s gravity, still looked blurry because we were at the absolute limits of how sharp we could make the images.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Future images of black holes 50% sharper<\/h3>\n

    These astronomers believe that, with their new technique, they\u2019ll be able to obtain improved images of black holes. They\u2019re hoping for images some 50% sharper than the ones from 2019 and 2022. Raymond said:<\/p>\n

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    At 0.87 millimeters, our images will be sharper and more detailed. In turn, they\u2019ll likely reveal new properties of black holes, both those that were previously predicted and maybe some that weren\u2019t.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n