The first image of a black hole raises as many questions as it answers about the nature of time, space, and matter.
It may look like only a fiery doughnut. Or perhaps the Great Eye of Sauron, the foreboding nucleus of J. R. Tolkien’s fantasy classic “Lord of the Rings.” But for the first time, humans have finally seen what was once merely predicted: a black hole.
A picture of one – or, more accurately, the bright swirling glow surrounding the phenomenon, which itself absorbs light near it – was revealed this week. It was taken in 2017 using eight telescopes sited around the world that together acted as one giant telescope peering into the center of a distant galaxy.
Scientists and other thinkers have long speculated that black holes are real and observable. More recently indirect evidence showed the existence of these impossibly large and mysterious aspects of the known universe. Until now, no way had been discovered to take a look: Scientists compared the task to looking up from Earth and trying to spot an orange on the moon.
