Black-holes, the invisible space-eaters with a gravitational force so strong that it can swallow entire stars and even light within its reach, may soon be visible to us.
In a space-breaking and earth-shattering breakthrough, astronomers around the globe working on cosmic observatories are set to make a major announcement on April 10, as per the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
Speculations are rife that the Event Horizon Telescope which is on a mission to capture the very first image of a black hole, may have succeeded, making this the biggest scientific discovery of the year. The implication of the mission is such that for the first-time humans may be able to ‘see’ the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy or the black hole over the elliptical galaxy- Messier 87.
Though theoretically, seeing the light-swallowing black hole is impossible, the ‘event horizon’ lying at the edge of its powerful gravity may make it possible to be visible.
Materials accumulate in the edge of the black hole's gravity and move around the black hole at such speed that they emit high-energy radiation – making it possible for us to see them. For the past 13 years, the Event Horizon Telescope has been trying to image two black holes: Sagittarius A*, at the center of the Milky Way, and the black hole at the center of Messier 87.
The last collection of data from the telescope had occurred two years ago, in April 2017. Astronomers have been piecing all the information and studying the results ever since.
While there has been no confirmation regarding the content of the April 10 announcement, given that the media advisory suggests a ‘ground-breaking result’ that will be simultaneously streamed in six different locations and four different languages around the world, there is a huge reason to be excited.