The European Southern Observatory is going to give the world new information about the stars in two weeks.
There is reason to be excited about the results being presented from the event horizon telescope project, based on what we know of their recent efforts.
The EHT project has been studying the heart of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, which is most likely home to a black hole called Sagittarius A*.
They are making a big deal out of it.
Since the scientists are holding simultaneous press conferences around the globe, it's a good chance what they are keeping under wraps is the next part after the first black hole reveal.
There will be a conference on the findings online on 12 May 2022, followed by a YouTube event with six astronomer from around the world. Press releases will include audiovisual material.
It will be a historic moment if astronomer can produce a direct image of Sgr A*'s event horizon.
Black holes are very difficult to see because they are invisible and absorb all the radiation.
Sgr A* is obscured by a cloud of dust and gas making it difficult to study.
The horizon of the black hole should be a glowing donut. This is the accretion disc of the black hole, a ring of gas and dust that gives off extreme radiation as it falls into the abyss.
The EHT Collaboration.
The same wording was used before announcing the first direct image of a black hole in 2019.
The black hole in the center of the M87 has a mass that is 6.5 billion times that of the Sun. Its event horizon is 20 billion kilometers away.
Experts compare taking a direct image of it to observing an object 1 millimeter in size from a distance.
Being at the heart of our own galaxy, Srg A* is closer to us. It is only 4.3 million times bigger than the Sun. It is only visible because it is closer to Earth than M87.
It would be a big deal if astronomer captured an image of its event horizon.
We want to see what the ESO has in store for us. There are more details about the announcement here.
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