New Image Shows Violent Events Near a Supermassive Black Hole
2023-05-05
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1Scientists last week released the first image showing the violent events surrounding a black hole.
2This image is one of just a few that have been taken of black holes.
3It included the point from which the black hole shoots out high-energy particles into space.
4The new image was captured using 16 telescopes around the world that, in effect, created a planet-sized observational dish.
5The supermassive black hole pictured is found at the center of a relatively nearby galaxy called Messier 87, or M87, about 54 million light-years from Earth.
6This black hole has a mass 6.5 billion times larger than our sun.
7It was the subject of the first image of a black hole ever taken.
8That image was released in 2019.
9Another image of a black hole was taken last year.
10But those images showed just the darkness of the black hole and surrounding bright material falling into it.
11They were taken from observations using several radio telescopes worldwide.
12The latest image shows light at a longer wavelength, which expands what can be seen.
13Black holes are hard to observe due to their nature.
14They are events found in space with a gravitational pull so strong that no matter or light can escape once caught too close.
15Most galaxies are built around supermassive black holes.
16Some not only take in any surrounding material, but also send out bright jets of high-energy particles far into space - beyond the galaxy from which they are from.
17The new image shows how the base of such a jet connects with material around the black hole.
18It shows the base of the jet of hot plasma, the light around the darkness of a black hole from hot plasma falling into it, and the central dark area.
19Plasma is the fourth state of matter after solids, liquids, and gases.
20It is material so hot that some or all of its atoms are split into high-energy subatomic particles.
21Scientist Ru-Sen Lu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai is the lead writer of the study, which was published in Nature.
22He said the image shows for the first time the connection between the material pulled inward near the central supermassive black hole and the point from which the jet starts.
23Seeing the whole area near a supermassive black hole can be helpful to scientists.
24Thomas Krichbaum of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany is a co-writer of the study.
25He said, "This helps to better understand the complicated physics around black holes, how jets are launched and accelerated and how matter inflow into the black hole and matter outflow are related."
26Kazunori Akiyama of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Haystack Observation also co-wrote the study.
27He said this is what scientists "have been wanting to see for more than half a century."
28He added that this is the beginning of an "exciting" new time.
29Lu, Krichbaum, and Akiyama are members of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project.
30The international working group formed in 2012 with the goal of directly observing a black hole's surrounding environment.
31I'm Gregory Stachel
1Scientists last week released the first image showing the violent events surrounding a black hole. This image is one of just a few that have been taken of black holes. It included the point from which the black hole shoots out high-energy particles into space. 2The new image was captured using 16 telescopes around the world that, in effect, created a planet-sized observational dish. 3The supermassive black hole pictured is found at the center of a relatively nearby galaxy called Messier 87, or M87, about 54 million light-years from Earth. This black hole has a mass 6.5 billion times larger than our sun. 4It was the subject of the first image of a black hole ever taken. That image was released in 2019. Another image of a black hole was taken last year. 5But those images showed just the darkness of the black hole and surrounding bright material falling into it. They were taken from observations using several radio telescopes worldwide. 6The latest image shows light at a longer wavelength, which expands what can be seen. 7Black holes are hard to observe due to their nature. They are events found in space with a gravitational pull so strong that no matter or light can escape once caught too close. 8Most galaxies are built around supermassive black holes. Some not only take in any surrounding material, but also send out bright jets of high-energy particles far into space - beyond the galaxy from which they are from. 9The new image shows how the base of such a jet connects with material around the black hole. It shows the base of the jet of hot plasma, the light around the darkness of a black hole from hot plasma falling into it, and the central dark area. 10Plasma is the fourth state of matter after solids, liquids, and gases. It is material so hot that some or all of its atoms are split into high-energy subatomic particles. 11Scientist Ru-Sen Lu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai is the lead writer of the study, which was published in Nature. He said the image shows for the first time the connection between the material pulled inward near the central supermassive black hole and the point from which the jet starts. 12Seeing the whole area near a supermassive black hole can be helpful to scientists. 13Thomas Krichbaum of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany is a co-writer of the study. He said, "This helps to better understand the complicated physics around black holes, how jets are launched and accelerated and how matter inflow into the black hole and matter outflow are related." 14Kazunori Akiyama of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Haystack Observation also co-wrote the study. He said this is what scientists "have been wanting to see for more than half a century." He added that this is the beginning of an "exciting" new time. 15Lu, Krichbaum, and Akiyama are members of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project. The international working group formed in 2012 with the goal of directly observing a black hole's surrounding environment. 16I'm Gregory Stachel 17Will Dunham reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 18__________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20galaxy n. any one of the very large groups of stars that make up the universe 21jet - n. a very strong stream of liquid or gas that comes out through a narrow opening 22complicated - adj. having many parts or steps 23accelerate - v. to move faster 24exciting - adj. causing feelings of interest and enthusiasm 25_________________________________________________________________ 26What do you think of this story? 27We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 28Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.