For years, scientists have been contesting the concept of black holes and their properties, and may have come to a conclusion regarding their appearance and functions.

Recently, the first ever picture of a black hole was revealed on April 10, 2019. While the image is blurry, it is irrefutable evidence that not only black holes exist, but that they are in the center of our entire galaxy.

The picture was taken using the Event Horizon Telescope, which is a large array consisting of global network radio telescope. The black hole is located in a galaxy called Messier 87 (M87), 55 millions light years away. The black hole is 6.5 billion times the mass of the Sun.

From Sarah Loff, an editor for the NASA website, in an article about the picture, writes

“By its very nature, a black hole cannot be seen, but the hot disk of material that encircles it shines bright. Against a bright backdrop, such as this disk, a black hole appears to cast a shadow.”   The picture makes history for being the first ever picture of a black hole. While there may be more to come, this is the first of many.

Loff also writes, “Neilsen and colleagues who were part of the coordinated observations will be working on dissecting the entire spectrum of light coming from the M87 black hole, all the way from low-energy radio waves to high-energy gamma rays. With so much data from EHT and other telescopes, scientists may have years of discoveries ahead.”