I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that today's announcement from the Event Horizon Telescope team is one of the most significant astronomical achievements of the century. They have released the very first direct image of a black hole.



The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration.



We are looking at the supermassive black hole at the centre of the M87 galaxy, 55 million light-years away. Seeing that glowing, asymmetrical ring of superheated plasma outlining the utter blackness of the event horizon gives me absolute chills. It perfectly aligns with Einstein's theory of general relativity, captured by effectively turning the entire Earth into a giant radio telescope. Staggering.