The first image of black hole pushed the entire world into astonishment. The scientists were only able to assume about the black hole until the picture came in.
All thanks to the scientists working at the Event Horizon Telescope. It was with their help the first image of the black hole came into being on last April.
Physicists at Harvard have been doing extensive research with the image. This article would establish the research outcomes and any new discoveries made.
The Findings
The internal structure of the black hole was more complex than what we thought. It unravelled various new secrets which we previously knew nothing about.
This complexity in the internal structure was due to the extreme bending of gravity which happens inside a black hole.
The current image has only revealed the surface of a huge mystery. We are yet to discover several important aspects of it.
They say that these new findings will soon lead to a much better image of a black hole.
We now know what areas of the black hole need more attention. The next image of the black hole will hopefully reveal a lot more information than the current one.
A Photon Sphere
Every black hole has a portion called the photon ring. It is also called the photon sphere. This is the region where gravity defies everything we know about it.
Gravitation is completely abnormal and heavy at this region of the black hole. The gravity is so strong that it makes the photons revolve around it.
The recent image of the black hole gave a lot more data about this region. But it turns out that there is more to this than what meets the eye.
We have now discovered that there is not just one but a series of rings around the black hole. These rings are about the same diameter but differ in their properties. The rings become sharper and sharper.
This is because the photons of light revolve many times around the black hole before they reach us, the observers.
Scientists Are Happy
Theorists were happy that they can finally see what they have been assuming for a long period.
They are happy that they now have visual proof for all their data. Until the year before, most of the information they have now was considered as mysteries.
As we know, the image of the black hole which we have now is not clear. It is blurry and does not please an average man.
But with the data which we have now, we can achieve an image which is much sharper than the one we have now.
The subrings found recently are not perceivable to the normal eye. They require a lot of processing for us to see them.
This can improve over the days and the next set of images will considerably be more clear.
We now know that one telescope will not yield a good quality image of the subrings. Two telescopes placed far away from each other are required to capture them.
Conclusion
The first image of black hole was a revolution. Although it could not yield a lot of information. But we now know a lot more about black holes than we did a year ago.
This information can help us to achieve better images in the near future. But right now, this is the biggest achievement which humankind has made till date.
