First ever image of a black hole

Scientists using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) have reportedly obtained the first image of a black hole. 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. 

The stunning new image shows the shadow of the supermassive black hole in the center of Messier 87 (M87), an elliptical galaxy some 55 million light-years from Earth.

Against a bright backdrop, such as the hot disk of material that encircles it, a black hole appears to cast a shadow. 

Catching the shadow involved eight ground-based radio telescopes around the globe, operating together as if they were one telescope the size of our entire planet.

Image credit: EHT