(CTN News) – Researchers who produced the first direct image of a black hole are preparing for another milestone – the discovery of the milky way galaxy’s center.
An official release by the US National Science Foundation states that the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) team will announce its findings at a press conference on May 12 alongside the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The National Science Foundation (NSF) conference will take place in Washington DC at 6:30 pm (IST).
The ETH’s next reveal cannot be accurately predicted, but many experts believe it will be Saggitarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the Milky Way’s galactic center.
It has been an exploratory target for about five years now since the system, which is 4.3 million times more massive than the sun, sits about 25,000 light-years from Earth. In contrast, the black hole imaged by the ETH team in 2019 is located in the Messier 87 galaxy, 55 million light-years away from Earth.
The behemoth is 6.5 billion times as massive as the Sun, and it took eight radio telescopes around the world to capture it.
How to watch the press conference?
Karen Marrongelle, NSF’s Chief Operating Officer, will give opening remarks at the press conference on May 12 at 6:30 pm (IST). Additionally, the ESO will host a live interactive question and answer session on the same platform following the press conference.
The first directly imaged black hole
