physics

Imaging scientist Katie Bouman watching the first reconstructed image of a black hole emerge from the Event Horizon Telescope data. Image courtesy of Katie Bouman

Katie Bouman ‘hardly knew what a black hole was.’ Her algorithm helped us see one

By Vicky Stein

Scientists have obtained the first image of a black hole, using Event Horizon Telescope observations of the center of the galaxy M87. The image shows a bright ring formed as light bends in the intense gravity around a black hole that is 6.5 billion times more massive than the Sun. This long-sought image provides the strongest evidence to date for the existence of supermassive black holes and opens a new window onto the study of black holes, their event horizons, and gravity. Photo by Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration

On Wednesday, the Event Horizon Telescope released the first-ever image of a black hole, a historic moment shared by scientists spread around the world.

By Nsikan Akpan

This is not an actual image of a black hole. This artist’s impression shows the surroundings of a supermassive black hole, typical of that found at the heart of many galaxies. The black hole itself is surrounded by a brilliant accretion disc of very hot, infalling material and, further out, a dusty torus. There are also often high-speed jets of material ejected at the black hole’s poles that can extend huge distances into space. Illustration and caption by European Southern Observatory

WATCH: What does a black hole look like? Scientists reveal the first picture

The Event Horizon Telescope is expected to release the first image of a black hole on Wednesday. In preparation for what might be a momentous day, here’s what you need to know.

By Nsikan Akpan

The famous Earthrise photograph captured by astronaut William Anders in 1968. These astronauts didn't know they were actually still inside of the Earth's geocorona. Image courtesy of NASA

If this space study is right, humans have never left Earth’s atmosphere

A new study redefines the boundaries of our planet.

By Vicky Stein

Northern lights seen over Rovaniemi in Lapland, Finland, in 2018. Researchers discovered the northern and southern lights are not symmetrical, and now they think they know why. Image by REUTERS/Alexander Kuznetsov

Why the northern and southern lights don’t always look identical

On a clear night, people near the poles might see colorful light wafting across the sky. New research could explain why these auroras don't look the same to everyone .

By Vicky Stein

WATCH: 2019’s only total lunar eclipse

By Vicky Stein

The eclipse began Sunday night, Jan. 20. You don't need to call it a ‘super blood wolf moon.'…

4 scientific tips to make your holiday cookies burst with flavor

By Jamie Leventhal

By using some chemistry and physics when baking, you can unlock a completely new range of delicious flavors in your holiday cookies.

Nobel Prize in physics awarded to three pioneers in laser science

By Vicky Stein

Strickland is the third woman ever to win a Nobel prize in physics, and the first in more than fifty years.

This stunning map of the Milky Way pinpoints more than 1 billion stars

By Lee Billings, Scientific American

The European Space Agency’s Gaia mission has released a catalog, the most detailed to date, of more than 1.5 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

Probing the universe’s mysteries, Stephen Hawking proved the power of the human spirit

By Miles O'Brien

Stephen Hawking overcame the loss of his working limbs and voice to become the best-known theoretical physicist of his era, upending the scientific consensus that nothing escapes the intense gravity of black holes. Earning countless honors, he used his fame…

Continue watching