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X-ray astronomy

Imaging black holes

Nature volume 407, pages 146–147 (2000)Cite this article

Black holes hold an almost mythical attraction for layperson and scientist alike. A black hole is an object so massive and compact that gravity prevents even light from escaping. The gravitational effect of a black hole on nearby objects provides compelling indirect evidence that they exist, but the ultimate proof has yet to come — a direct image of the ‘black dot’.

On page 160 of this issue, Cash et al.1 present the first laboratory demonstration of an X-ray interferometer that will be useful to astronomers. Their approach will make it much easier to achieve the angular resolution of 0.1 to 1.0 microarcseconds required to obtain an X-ray image of black holes in the centre of nearby galaxies. Astronomers divide up the sky into angular degrees, so that 90° is the distance from the horizon to a point directly overhead (there are 60 arcminutes in a degree and 60 arcseconds in a minute). Apart from satisfying our curiosity as to what the region surrounding a black hole looks like, this advance will allow us to directly observe effects predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity under the most extreme gravity fields known. It will also provide a formidable tool that will open new vistas on a wide range of astronomical phenomena.

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Figure 1: Imaging a black hole requires an enormous improvement in telescope power — at least a million times better resolution than the Hubble Space Telescope, or the recently launched Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Figure 2: A Pathfinder mission to demonstrate X-ray interferometry in space.

References

  1. Cash, W., Shipley, A., Osterman, S. & Joy, M. Nature 407, 160–162 ( 2000).

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  2. Tanaka, Y. et al. Nature 375, 659–661 (1995).

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  1. Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, 20771, Maryland, USA

    Nicholas White

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  1. Nicholas White
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Correspondence to Nicholas White.

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White, N. Imaging black holes. Nature 407, 146–147 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35025179

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