Scientists expect 1st direct black hole image soon (earthsky.org)

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By Deborah Byrd in Human World | Space | March 10, 2018

This was the most popular post at EarthSky this week, and no wonder. It’s exciting! We’re holding our breaths for the 1st-ever direct image of a black hole’s event horizon, expected to be released in 2018.

Editor’s Note: We originally posted this story in late 2017, but it has proven so popular that we’re bringing it back to the forefront now. This story is definitely one to watch in 2018.

In late 2017, scientists with the Event Horizon Telescope – an international collaboration that’s created a virtual Earth-sized telescope, with the goal of capturing the first direct image of a black hole – reported on a the long-awaited shipment of hard disk drives from the South Pole. They said they were busily analyzing the data on these drives, which is expected to be a key component in giving us the first-ever direct image of a black hole sometime in 2018. An article at news.com.au reported:

The data is in. The numbers are being crunched.

The Vox.com video above explains that nearly all images we see of black holes are artist’s illustrations. The ones that aren’t illustrations show, at best, the effects of black holes on the space around them – for example, stars in tightly bound orbits, gas heated to high temperatures, or relativistic jets.

So what are scientists with the Event Horizon Telescope expecting to see?
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more: http://earthsky.org/space/1st-direct-black-hole-2018-image-event-horizon-telescope
http://eventhorizontelescope.org/