Fans want "a legitimate place in history" for Katie Bouman, who has created an algorithm to assemble this black hole photo



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First of all, we had a breathtaking image, the first to show a black hole, in a galaxy located about 55 million light years from Earth.

Then came the stunned realization that the remarkable moment of creation of years would not have been possible without the work of a 29-year-old female scientist, who has now claimed a special place in the world. # 39; history.

Katherine Bouman, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has created an algorithm that assembles a single image. And after the image was unveiled to the world on Wednesday, Bouman began to gain praise from scientists, historians and politicians for his remarkable achievements.

"Given the extent of the use of the term" historic "today, we are legitimately and legitimately jumping on the #BlackHolePicture train. Congratulations Dr. Bouman!" the Royal Historical Society wrote on social media.

Bouman began working on an algorithm as a postgraduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied electrical engineering and computer science.

According to Ben Guarino of the Washington Post:

"She was part of the thirty or so computer scientists who used algorithms to process the data collected by the Event Horizon Telescope project, a global collaboration of astronomers, engineers and mathematicians.

"Telescopes around the world collect high-frequency radio waves near Messier 87, a supermassive black hole located 54 million light-years away, but the atmospheric disturbance and accuracy of measurements meant that one" infinite number of possible images "could Bouman explained that well-designed algorithms had to go through chaos."

When the very first image was unveiled Wednesday, it sparked overwhelming enthusiasm online, not only for science, but also for the scientist who supports it.

"I'm inspired by Katie Bouman," Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of U.N. Women, wrote on Twitter.

The feeling was shared through social media.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted: "Take your rightful place in history, Dr. Bouman! Congratulations and thank you for your tremendous contribution to the progress of science and humanity."

The Barbie account on Twitter wrote: "Congratulations Katie Bouman for this remarkable achievement! Thank you for showing the example and encouraging the girls to push the boundaries of science."

"Hats off to Katie Bouman of MIT for her contribution to today's big announcement!", Writes Planetary Society, led by Bill Nye.

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