Astronomers are preparing to make a "revolutionary" announcement on the black hole

Astronomers working on a global network of cosmic observatories are due to make a "revolutionary" announcement on April 10, according to the European Southern Observatory.

Since the Event Horizon telescope has the mission to capture the very first image of a black hole, it could be one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the year – the humans, for the first time, could "see" the black hole in the center of the galaxy of the Milky Way or that of our nearest cosmic neighbor, Messier 87.

Of course, the black holes are invisible l & # 39; space-vampires. Their immense gravity sucks in all surrounding matter, including light, which falls within their reach. And once something falls, he can never escape. This makes it quite impossible to actually see a black hole right now.

However, at the very edge of the powerful gravity of a black hole lies "the horizon of events". Matter accumulates in this region and travels around the black hole at a rate such that it emits high energy radiation – all that we can see. Over the last 13 years, the Horizon Event Telescope (which is actually a network of radio observatories across the planet) is trying to image two black holes: Sagittarius A *, in the center of the Milky Way , and the black hole in the center of Messier 87, an elliptical galaxy nearby.

Observatories around the world focus on black hole locations and individually capture radio signals from the event horizon. The data they capture is digitized and stored on hard drives, which are physically sent to participating institutions for analysis. Because every telescope around the world is synchronized to an extremely accurate clock, the data can be correlated, assembled, and finally – and it's the holy grail – produce a picture of the event's hole horizon black.

The last data collection took place two years ago, in April 2017. At that time, astronomers compiled the results of the race. Many now suspect that the April 10 announcement will give us a first glimpse of a blackboard. hole.

This is not a certainty, but since the media advisor suggests a "revolutionary result" that will be simultaneously broadcast in six different locations and in four different languages, there is something to be excited about.

The official announcement will begin at 6 am on April 10. Whatever the result, CNET will cover it.