Scientists have long known about the existence of black holes but they’ve never actually been able to see one. Black holes are typically invisible because the immense gravity sucks in all the light. Researchers are hopeful, however, that the new Event Horizon Telescope will be able to capture the first photograph ever of a black hole.

The Event Horizon Telescope isn’t just one extremely powerful telescope. According to the Daily Mail, a team of scientists will use 50 radio telescopes from around in order to capture a picture of a black hole. Project Event Horizon Telescope will attempt to capture images of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way. The project will also test Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.

Dimitrios Psaltis, an associate professor of astrophysics at the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory, said:

“Nobody has ever taken a picture of a black hole. We are going to do just that.”

Sheperd Doeleman, am assistant professor at MIT and principal investigator on the project, explained that Project Event Horizon Telescope will actually be taking an image of the black hole’s shadow.

“As dust and gas swirls around the black hole before it is drawn inside, a kind of cosmic traffic jam ensues… ‘Swirling around the black hole like water circling the drain in a bathtub, the matter compresses and the resulting friction turns it into plasma heated to a billion degrees or more, causing it to ‘glow’ – and radiate energy that we can detect here on Earth.”

Physorg reports that a black hole appears as empty space in the universe. And although it’s widely accepted that this empty space is a black hole, there is no direct evidence that a black hole exists.

Psaltis added:

“So far, we have indirect evidence that there is a black hole at the center of the Milky Way… But once we see its shadow, there will be no doubt.”

Do you think Project Event Horizon Telescope will be able to spot the black hole at the center of the Milky Way?

First Photograph of a Black Hole Could be Coming Soon is a post from: The Inquisitr

A massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy called Sagittarius A* is about to consume a giant cloud of gas. Scientists are hoping that the cosmic feast will shed light on how black holes consume celestial objects.

Physorg.com reports that many, if not all galaxies have a massive black hole at their center. Sagittarius A* is the only black hole close enough for scientists to study.

Eliot Quataert, a theoretical astrophysicist and University of California, Berkeley professor of astronomy, said:

“When we look at the black holes in the centers of other galaxies, we see them get bright and then fade, but we never know what is actually happening. This is an unprecedented opportunity to obtain unique observations and insight into the processes that go on as gas falls into a black hole, heats up and emits light.”

Space.com reports that the massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way contains about 4.3 million times the mass of the sun. The black hole is constantly pulling at objects in the Milky Way but according to Stefan Gillessen, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, it is very rare for the black hole to actually consume and destroy something.

Gillessen said:

“If you were to throw something into (a black hole’s) direction and you miss it a bit, the object would just swing by the black hole, like a spacecraft does when it passes a planet. The object can only fall in if you point very precisely towards the black hole and hit it, or if during the swing-by the object loses energy and decelerates such that it falls in.”

Scientists around the world will watch as the giant glass cloud is sucked into the black hole over the next two years. The BBC reports that the cloud will soon pass the point of no return and has already started to elongate as it nears the black hole.

Gillesen adds:

“The idea of an astronaut close to a black hole being stretched out to resemble spaghetti is familiar from science fiction. But we can now see this happening for real to the newly discovered cloud. It is not going to survive the experience.”

Here’s a video about the massive black hole in the Milky Way Galaxy.

Massive Black Hole Ready to Consume Giant Gas Cloud is a post from: The Inquisitr

A team of astronomers have discovered two massive black holes that are now the largest black holes known to exist throughout the known universe.

The team, led by astronomers at UC Berkeley, discovered the unimaginably large black holes within clusters of elliptical galaxies nearly 300 million light years from our own galaxy, which in galactic terms makes it a couple cities over from the Milky Way. The researchers say that each black hole is 10 billion times more massive than our own sun.

By contrast, the previous black hole to hold the record for being the largest in the known universe was “only” six billion times more massive than our own sun, which itself is roughly 100 times larger than Earth.

“I’m very excited right now because I think learning about these black holes will tell us about how the galaxies were formed. We think they were formed when their parent galaxies were formed,” said Chung-Pei Ma, a professor of astronomy at Berkeley who was involved in the findings. “I’m just very curious to know how these black holes got so monstrous. This is an enormous amount of mass in a very small space.”

These particular black holes are believed to be the remnants of violent quasars during the early formation of the universe. Black holes are believed to form when a massive star collapses in on itself.

“I would think of a black hole as a monster lurking in space that you cannot see but it’s capable of sucking in material if you go really close to it. It’s a region in the universe with the strongest gravity,” Ma told ABC News.

via ABC News

[Image: Artist's concept by Pete Marenfeld/NOAO]

Black holes 10 billion times more massive than our sun discovered is a post from: The Inquisitr

Cern has two live streams, one in Windows Media format, the other in Flash. At the time of writing the sites were being hammered with traffic, so it’s pot luck as to whether you’ll get on and get the stream playing.

There is also suppose to be a stream on EVO here, although you have to sign up to get access…which might mean you’ll have a better chance of getting on.

CMS is offering webcam coverage from the site, no live streams, but you will get the general picture here.

The event is getting a lot of coverage in the heritage media, although it’s not clear who will be running the stream live. Try Livestation for access for some channels, or websites directly.

Cern is on Twitter, and there’s an a live blogging effort from news.com.au of all places on Twitter here.

If you’re concerned about the LHC creating a black hole that will consume the planet, you can stay informed at hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com

If you’re interested in a layman’s explanation of what the LHC is trying to achieve, Wired has the best guide.

The first test is due to commence at around 5pm Australian Eastern, midnight PDT.

UPDATE: First test was a success, with the big show yet to come. Cern’s official stream didn’t like the traffic, but following this post, Livestation contacted Cern and are now an official streaming partner. Details here, and for the next round of tests, I’d recommend trying Livestation first.

Watch the Large Hadron Collider live online [end of the world?] is a post from: The Inquisitr