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Space

Why trying to photograph a black hole was a massive gamble

Astronomers working on the Event Horizon Telescope project didn't know if their attempt to photograph a black hole would pay off, Luciano Rezzolla tells 91av Live

By Alex Wilkins

7 October 2023

The image of the black hole in the M87 galaxy produced in 2019

Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration

The iconic first image of a black hole, released in 2019, might never have happened if not for a stroke of luck, according to one of the astronomers who helped create the image.

Speaking at in London, at Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany, who is on the executive committee of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) that created the image, revealed that the researchers didn’t know if their efforts would pay off until after they had spent years on…

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