Meeting with the woman behind the first black hole ever seen

Have you ever seen the very first image of a black hole in space? Katie Bouman has the merit of having done so.

Since black holes are supposed to be invisible, seeing one is a feat in itself. But they cast shadows on the material around them. Being so far in the galaxy makes them elusive for photography.

An international group was able to capture the image using an algorithm developed by Bouman three years ago. At that time, she was a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Bouman will be this fall assistant professor at the California Institute of Technology.