Scientists At Dutch University Make Breakthrough Black Hole Discovery

The black hole, formally known as M87*, was photographed in a worldwide effort by a network of eight telescopes around the world – two of which are in Chile and two in Hawaii. The others are located at the South Pole, in the US, Spain, and Mexico. This was necessary because no single telescope would have been powerful enough to capture such an image on its own. 

Professor Falcke likened seeing the first ever image of a black hole to exchanging love letters with someone you’ve never met for 20 years, and then all of a sudden you’re meeting each other face-to-face for the first time and coming to the realization that it’s all very real.

“It did look pretty much like what we had predicted and calculated. But to really see it, looking into the face of the monster, is a completely different feeling,” said Falcke.

“But then the uncertainty starts whether that realization holds. You face reality, how does it compare to your dreams? This was a nerve-wracking process to actually reassure ourselves that what we were seeing was right,” he added.

It took Professor Falcke and the entire team two years to reach this landmark moment in astrophysics history.

“It takes a year to recover all the data, and then it took another year to scrutinize the data to make sure we were not fooling ourselves, so these were really two amazing years.

“Exhausting, exhilarating and in all respects, memorable,” he concluded.

Not long after unveiling the image of the black hole, the Event Horizon Telescope team was awarded the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics 2020. To make such extraordinary breakthroughs such as this demonstrates the significance and importance of astrophysics.

“Astronomy gives us this big picture. It tells us our place in the universe. And you need all of the different types of physics to describe and understand the universe. From particle physics to chemistry, and nowadays even biology,” said Falcke.

“It is very interdisciplinary and there are so many things you learn from it. You’re learning to work with big numbers and big concept and big ideas.

“From radio digital technology, to optical technology, x- rays, gamma rays, you name it, there’s hardly any technology that you’re not needing. It is so interdisciplinary, and you learn to think big and you find your way of uncovering the unknown.

“It really is a human enterprise that’s based on fascination and curiosity.”

When it comes to studying a field as varied as astrophysics, the possibility of specializations is almost endless. At Radboud University, students can opt to specialize in theoretical astronomy, observational astronomy and experimental astronomy – anything goes and “you can choose your own direction as you’re getting all the fundamental sciences at once,” said Falcke.

With access to the likes of the Radboud Radio Lab, which is where various instrumentation projects are developed, observing with the Event Horizon Telescope, and using supercomputers to emulate the nature of black holes – students will have the benefit of a well-rounded education which confronts the fundamentals of physics.

Looking ahead to the future of astrophysics research, the sheer complexity of the Event Horizon Telescope is a great example of what it means to have a respect for machines that operate at the very limit of human engineering and intelligence.

“I think the future will probably lay with space missions which a lot of the master’s students will be involved in as some are happening on a timescale of 10-15 years and even 20 years. So when they’ve completed their studies they could be the next leading physicists there – and that will be a major thing,” said Falcke.

Lead image credit: EHT Collaboration