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Scientists have obtained the first image of a black hole, using the Event Horizon Telescope observations of the centre of the galaxy M87.Credit: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration
First-ever image of a black hole
This golden doughnut is the first image ever of the event horizon that surrounds a black hole — in this case, the supermassive black hole at the centre of a nearby galaxy called M87. The image is a spectacular confirmation of black holes’ existence, first deduced from Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity nearly 100 years ago. Black holes are widely accepted to exist, but have never before been directly observed. Astronomers created the new image by processing radio-wave observations invisible to the human eye.
“We have seen the gates of hell at the end of space and time,” says astrophysicist Heino Falck. “What you’re looking at is a ring of fire created by the deformation of space-time. Light goes around, and looks like a circle.”
How they did it
Astronomers strung together a network of radio observatories spanning the globe to create a telescope powerful enough to capture the image. That’s because black holes at the centres of galaxies are also surprisingly small: this is the equivalent of resolving the shape of a doughnut on the Moon. Go deeper, with Nature’s feature from 2017 exploring exactly how the observation was made, which includes the prescient infographic below.
NIK SPENCER/Nature; Avery Broderick/University of Waterloo (IMAGES bottom)
Japan’s ‘moonshot’ to solve the big problems
The Japanese government says that it will spend ¥100 billion (US$897 million) on an ambitious project to solve the country’s biggest challenges. The goals of the five-year Moonshot Research and Development System have yet to be decided, but a committee that met for the first time last month discussed how to reduce carbon emissions and create a plastic-free society.
Chemistry is the fastest path to a Nobel prize
Not all paths to becoming a Nobel laureate are equal. A new study has found that physicists take less time — and many fewer papers — on average, to land a career-defining discovery, but they endure the longest wait for the prize. The opposite is true for chemists, who produce their Nobel-winning work later in life, but have the shortest wait to win.
FEATURES & OPINION
How to have hard talks about research ethics
Biologist Mary Allen has first-hand experience overcoming the ethical hurdles of a scientific career: she spoke up when she suspected that the principal investigator (PI) of her first graduate-school lab had falsified data on grant applications. Now a responsible-conduct teacher and a PI herself, Allen outlines how to tackle difficult conversations when facing an ethical quandary.
Data science can build a better government
Policymakers should harness data to deliver public services, urge policy analysts Helen Margetts and Cosmina Dorobantu. The pay-offs would go well beyond cutting costs, they argue: a data-driven government might actually be more fair, transparent and responsive.
