🕷️ Crawler Inspector

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Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 8 (from laksa063)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa008.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.space.com/event-horizon-black-hole-image-tests\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.space.com/event-horizon-black-hole-image-tests\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.space.com\/event-horizon-black-hole-image-tests","crawl_time":1775398652,"first_indexed_time":1725567551,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,space!www,\/event-horizon-black-hole-image-tests s443","src_root_hash":"7770394665477845008","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"The 1st Milky Way black hole image was groundbreaking — the next could be even better | Space","meta_descriptions":["By demonstrating the ability for joint observations at the short radio wavelength of 0.87mm, the Event Horizon Telescope has improved its observational acuity by half."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"The\nEvent Horizon Telescope\n(EHT), which is a collaboration of radio telescopes all around the world that operate in unison to image\nsupermassive black holes\n, has achieved its finest resolution yet. In the future, this accomplishment could lead to images of the ring of light around a\nblack hole's\nevent horizon\nthat are 50% sharper, resolving hitherto unseen details and producing movies of how the black holes change as they spin. \nThe EHT works on the principle of \"very long baseline interferometry,\" or VLBI for short. This involves tapping into a network of telescopes across continents that all work collectively to observe the same object, combining their data in the process. The wider the distance between the two farthest telescopes in the network, the greater the resolution, and the more telescopes there are in the network, the greater the sensitivity.\nThe EHT managed to\nimage\nthe black hole in the center of our\nMilky Way galaxy\n,\nSagittarius A*\n, as well as the black hole in the center of the elliptical galaxy M87, M87* —  marking the first two black hole images captured by humanity — because it has a huge baseline. Think of the baseline as being the telescope's aperture. The EHT's most southern telescope is the South Pole Telescope, while its most northern station is the Greenland Telescope, which means the network spans almost top to bottom of the planet.\nArticle continues below\nAlong with the baseline factor, wavelength has a role to play, with lower wavelengths achieving higher resolution. The historic images of the black hole at the center of our galaxy and M87 were captured at a radio wavelength of 1.3mm. At this wavelength, the \"photon ring,\" which is the torus of emission around the event horizon with the black hole's dark shadow inside it, appears blurred — particularly in the case of Sagittarius A*. This is because the radio emission coming from the black hole is being partially scattered by ionized gas in the\ninterstellar medium\nbetween us and the object itself. This results in the light becoming smeared across an angular scale, comparable to the resolution of the EHT at 1.3mm. The smearing effect would be drastically less apparent at shorter wavelengths.\nRelated:\nStunning Photos of Our Milky Way Galaxy (Gallery)\nTo this end, for the first time ever, the EHT has been able to conduct VLBI at a shorter wavelength of 0.87mm.\n\"With the EHT, we saw the first images of black holes by detecting radio waves at the 1.3mm wavelength, but the bright ring we saw, formed by light bending in the black hole's\ngravity\n, still looked blurry because we were at the absolute limits of how sharp we could make the images,\" said Alexander Raymond, of NASA's\nJet Propulsion Laboratory\n, in a\nstatement\n. \"At 0.87mm, our images will be sharper and more detailed, which in turn will likely reveal new properties, both those that were previously predicted and maybe some that weren't.\"\nBreaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!\nAchieving VLBI at 0.87mm is not an easy thing, hence why it hasn't been accomplished before. One of the difficulties has to do with water vapor in the atmosphere tending to absorb radio waves at this short wavelength, so weather would have to be very dry at all the EHT's observing sites.\nThe locations of the observatories that participated in the groundbreaking Event Horizon Telescope very long baseline interferometry experiment at the short wavelength of 0.87mm. \n(Image credit: ESO\/M. Kornmesser)\nAs for those observing sites, this particular VLBI experiment involved both the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (\nALMA\n) and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment in Chile, the Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter Range (IRAM) 30-meter telescope in Spain, the Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) in France, the Submillimeter Array (SMA) on Mauna Kea in Hawaii and the Greenland Telescope, all of which are stations for the EHT. Probing numerous\nquasars\nat 0.87mm, they achieved a resolution of 19 microarcseconds. \nHow small is 19 microarcseconds? Well, the sky is divided into 360 degrees, with each degree consisting of 60 arcminutes, and each arcminute is further subdivided into 60 arcseconds. A microarcsecond is a millionth of an arcsecond, so 19 microarcseconds is like being able to resolve a bottle-top on the surface of\nthe moon\n. It's the greatest resolution for an astronomical image ever achieved solely from the surface of the\nEarth\n(although combinations of ground- and space-based telescopes have achieved similar resolutions in the past). Raymond and his colleagues actually think the EHT could resolve down to just 13 arcseconds when operating at full capacity (for example, with the inclusion of the South Pole Telescope, which was not involved in the 0.87mm test).\nThe Event Horizon Telescope’s image of our Milky Way’s supermassive black hole, at a wavelength of 1.3mm. \n(Image credit: EHT Collaboration)\nThe intention now is to apply this breakthrough while taking new images of Sagittarius A* and the supermassive black hole in M87.\n\"The time is right, as the new detections prove, to advance to 0.87mm,\" said Remo Tilanus of the University of Arizona, who is the EHT's Operations Manager.\nThe greater resolution won't just sharpen the image of the photon ring around each black hole, but also more precisely depict their shape and size, allowing more accurate estimates of the black holes' spin rates and angle to us. It will also bring into range supermassive black holes in other galaxies, and allow us to see closer to the base of relativistic jets shooting out from active black holes such as in quasars. This could provide more answers into how a black hole's\nmagnetic field\nproduces jets that move at almost the\nspeed of light\nand extend out into deep space for thousands of\nlight-years\n.\nA simulation showing the difference in sharpness between observations of a black hole at 1.3mm and at 0.87mm. \n(Image credit: Christian M. Fromm, Julius-Maximilian University, Würzburg)\nIn addition to now being able to operate at a shorter wavelength, there are plans in place for major modifications to the EHT, in a program called \"next generation EHT,\" or \"ngEHT\" for short. This will add new telescopes to the existing EHT infrastructure at locations around the world optimized to provide the greatest baselines and sensitivity, as well as improve detector facilities at the existing members of the collaboration so they can observe black holes at multiple wavelengths between 3mm and 0.87mm simultaneously. \nRelated Stories:\nAll in all, the next generation EHT is expected to increase the sharpness and clarity of black hole images by a factor of 10, perhaps even enabling high-resolution movies showing changes in the photon ring around a black hole's event horizon over\ntime\nas the black hole spins and accretes more matter from the surrounding\nspace\n.\n\"These VLBI signal detections at 0.87mm are groundbreaking since they open a new observing window for the study of supermassive black holes,\" said Thomas Krichbaum of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany in a\nstatement\nissued by the European Southern Observatory.\nThe results of this groundbreaking VLBI experiment were published on Aug. 27 in\nThe Astronomical Journal\n. \nShare your thoughts\n0\n0\n0\n0\nJoin the community\nJoin the Space.com Family! The best way to keep in touch and to be informed of our latest quizzes and competitions, as well as news and offers.\nAlready have an account?\nLog in\nLog In\nForgotten your password?\nReset it\nNot got an account?\nRegister\nMy Details\nUpdate your details below...\nKeep in the Know\nWould you like to be kept informed about new quizzes and offers from Future and its partners?\nValidate Your Mobile No.\nWe have sent a code to\n. Please enter it below to verify your account.\nUpdate mobile number\nResend code\nUpdate Your Mobile No.\nYou may enter a new mobile number below. You will be sent a verification code to the phone number you provide.\nCancel\nembed-reactions.hint_heading\nembed-reactions.hint_subheading\nValidate Your Email Address\nWe have sent a code to\n. Please enter it below to verify your account.\nUpdate email address\nResend code\nUpdate Your Email Address\nYou may enter a new email address below. You will be sent a verification code to the address you provide.\nCancel\nCreate a Username\nThis will be publicly viewable so make it something you like!\nReset your password\nEnter your email address below. If it is registered with us, we will email you a code that will allow you to reset your password.\nCheck your inbox\nIf your email address was found in our system, you should receive an email in the next few minutes containing a code. Enter that code below to reset your password.\nSet new password\nPlease enter your new password below.\nLeaderboard\nRank\nPlayer\nScore\nTime\nKeith Cooper is a freelance science journalist and editor in the United Kingdom, and has a degree in physics and astrophysics from the University of Manchester. He's the author of \"The Contact Paradox: Challenging Our Assumptions in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence\" (Bloomsbury Sigma, 2020) and has written articles on astronomy, space, physics and astrobiology for a multitude of magazines and websites.","attrs_markdown":"![](https:\/\/sb.scorecardresearch.com\/p\/?c1=2&c2=10055482&cv=4.4.0&cj=1)\n\n[Skip to main content](https:\/\/www.space.com\/event-horizon-black-hole-image-tests#main)\n\nOpen menu\n\n[![Space](https:\/\/www.space.com\/media\/img\/spc-logo-w.svg) Space](https:\/\/www.space.com\/)\n\n[Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter](https:\/\/www.space.com\/newsletter)\n\n[RSS](https:\/\/www.space.com\/feeds.xml)\n\nSign in\n\n- View Profile\n- Sign out\n\nSearch\n\n- [Space Exploration](https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration)\n  - [Launches & Spacecraft](https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration\/launches-spacecraft)\n    - [Private spaceflight](https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration\/private-spaceflight)\n    - 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The orange galactic cores are visible in the center of the image and long antennae-like spiral arms can be seen stretching into space on either side.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/XqD328YcaR6HyiUGubqzDP.jpg) Astrophotography Astrophotographer captures spectacular photo of Antennae Galaxies dueling in deep space](https:\/\/www.space.com\/stargazing\/astrophotography\/astrophotographer-captures-spectacular-photo-of-antennae-galaxies-dueling-in-deep-space \"Astrophotographer captures spectacular photo of Antennae Galaxies dueling in deep space\")\n\n[![An illustration of a fiery red explosion in space from which a beam of green concentric circles protrudes.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/he6trTUsHbFfw5rE7UP4wM.png) Astronomy Astronomers missed a space explosion as powerful as a billion suns — until they spotted its echo](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/astronomers-missed-a-space-explosion-as-powerful-as-a-billion-suns-until-they-spotted-its-echo \"Astronomers missed a space explosion as powerful as a billion suns — until they spotted its echo\")\n\n[![An illustration shows the JWST in space next to its observations of some of the earliest galaxies ever seen, the so-called \\&quot;little red dots.\\&quot;](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ExCZSbHLLaztex8gVgeUhE.png) Galaxies Are mysterious 'Little Red Dots' discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope actually baby galaxies under construction?](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/galaxies\/are-mysterious-little-red-dots-discovered-by-the-james-webb-space-telescope-actually-baby-galaxies-under-construction \"Are mysterious 'Little Red Dots' discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope actually baby galaxies under construction?\")\n\n[![Two blue and white spirals of light are intertwined in the darkness of space](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/jKJ7LmegLNWvreY7He3etm.jpg) Galaxies Space telescopes capture breathtaking galactic hug \\| Space photo of the day for Jan. 8, 2026](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/galaxies\/space-telescopes-capture-breathtaking-galactic-hug-space-photo-of-the-day-for-jan-8-2026 \"Space telescopes capture breathtaking galactic hug | Space photo of the day for Jan. 8, 2026\")\n\n[![An illustration of an orange sphere in space surrounded by a gray ring of material.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/hTJ5qiXjJQFJW3jj2fL9HK.png) Stars Astronomers just watched a star 1,540 times the size of our sun transform into a hypergiant. Will it go supernova?](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/stars\/astronomers-just-watched-a-star-1-540-times-the-size-of-our-sun-transform-into-a-hypergiant-will-it-go-supernova \"Astronomers just watched a star 1,540 times the size of our sun transform into a hypergiant. Will it go supernova?\")\n\n[![A speculative illustration of tiny primordial black holes. Have physicists just seen one explode?](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/2zwJQfcoh55WtPyoSDqgc5.jpg) Black Holes Did astronomers see a black hole explode? An 'impossible' particle that hit Earth in 2023 may tell us](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes\/did-astronomers-see-a-black-hole-explode-an-impossible-particle-that-hit-earth-in-2023-may-tell-us \"Did astronomers see a black hole explode? An 'impossible' particle that hit Earth in 2023 may tell us\")\n\n[![A grid showing 18 dusty galaxies that look like reddish splotches and golden splotches.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vuTiXc9HXtEpvxdpxusebF.png) James Webb Space Telescope These 70 dusty galaxies at the edge of our universe could rewrite our understanding of the cosmos](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/james-webb-space-telescope\/these-70-dusty-galaxies-at-the-edge-of-our-universe-could-rewrite-our-understanding-of-the-cosmos \"These 70 dusty galaxies at the edge of our universe could rewrite our understanding of the cosmos\")\n\n[![Pink structures looks like dots all across the image. There\\&\\#039;s a boxout that shows a magnified view of one section. 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Scientists think they could explain 3 big mysteries in the universe](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes\/what-are-dark-stars-scientists-think-they-could-explain-3-big-mysteries-in-the-universe \"What are 'dark' stars? Scientists think they could explain 3 big mysteries in the universe\")\n\n[![An illustration of the supermassive black hole IRAS 05189-2524 which the XRISM spacecraft watched spring back to life](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EfPEznfetDrGHyxBc9hwwQ.png) Black Holes X-ray spacecraft watches monster black hole wake up and fire cosmic bullets at starburst galaxy](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes\/x-ray-spacecraft-watches-monster-black-hole-wake-up-and-fire-cosmic-bullets-at-starburst-galaxy \"X-ray spacecraft watches monster black hole wake up and fire cosmic bullets at starburst galaxy\")\n\n[![An illustration shows dark matter powering the heart of a spiral galaxy](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/69kRCSZKQ5H5nddwqCTGR3.png) Dark Universe Could the Milky Way galaxy's supermassive black hole actually be a clump of dark matter?](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/dark-universe\/could-the-milky-way-galaxys-supermassive-black-hole-actually-be-a-clump-of-dark-matter \"Could the Milky Way galaxy's supermassive black hole actually be a clump of dark matter?\")\n\nTrending\n\n- [Artemis 2 moon launch: Live updates](https:\/\/www.space.com\/news\/live\/artemis-2-nasa-moon-mission-launch-updates-march-30-2026#mrfhud=true)\n- [Amazon Spring Sale space deals](https:\/\/www.space.com\/technology\/amazon-spring-sale-deals-for-stargazing-2026-huge-savings-on-telescopes-binoculars-and-cameras)\n- [Night sky tonight\\!](https:\/\/www.space.com\/news\/live\/night-sky-what-you-can-see-tonight-march-30)\n- [Aurora Forecast](https:\/\/www.space.com\/live\/aurora-forecast-northern-lights-possible-tonight-march-27-29)\n- [Space Calendar](https:\/\/www.space.com\/32286-space-calendar.html)\n- [Live 4K Sen video from space\\!](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/earth\/live-4k-video-from-space-see-earth-from-the-iss-with-sharp-eyed-sen-cameras)\n- [Best Drones](https:\/\/www.space.com\/best-drones)\n- [Lego Star Wars deals](https:\/\/www.space.com\/lego-star-wars-deals)\n- [Next Full Moon](https:\/\/www.space.com\/16830-full-moon-calendar.html)\n- [Best Telescopes](https:\/\/www.space.com\/15693-telescopes-beginners-telescope-reviews-buying-guide.html)\n- [Solar System Planets](https:\/\/www.space.com\/16080-solar-system-planets.html)\n- [Best Star Projectors](https:\/\/www.space.com\/best-star-projectors)\n- [Best Binoculars](https:\/\/www.space.com\/26021-best-binoculars.html)\n\n1. [Astronomy](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy)\n2. [Black Holes](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes)\n# The 1st Milky Way black hole image was groundbreaking — the next could be even better\n[News](https:\/\/www.space.com\/news)\n\nBy [Keith Cooper](https:\/\/www.space.com\/author\/keith-cooper)\n\npublished\n\nSeptember 5, 2024\n\nThe Event Horizon Telescope’s new abilities will help it see more details in the ring of light surrounding a black hole’s shadow.\n\nWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. 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Sign up for our skywatching newsletter and explore the universe with us\\!\n\nSubscribe +\n\n![Strange New Words](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Mk2LrCm68RFHzQhNyQaH2Y.jpg)\n\nTwice a month\n\nStrange New Words\n\nSpace.com's Sci-Fi Reader's Club. Read a sci-fi short story every month and join a virtual community of fellow science fiction fans\\!\n\nSubscribe +\n\n***\nAn account already exists for this email address, please log in.\n\nSubscribe to our newsletter\n\nThe [Event Horizon Telescope](https:\/\/www.space.com\/event-horizon-telescope.html) (EHT), which is a collaboration of radio telescopes all around the world that operate in unison to image [supermassive black holes](https:\/\/www.space.com\/supermassive-black-hole), has achieved its finest resolution yet. In the future, this accomplishment could lead to images of the ring of light around a [black hole's](https:\/\/www.space.com\/15421-black-holes-facts-formation-discovery-sdcmp.html) [event horizon](https:\/\/www.space.com\/black-holes-event-horizon-explained.html) that are 50% sharper, resolving hitherto unseen details and producing movies of how the black holes change as they spin.\n\nThe EHT works on the principle of \"very long baseline interferometry,\" or VLBI for short. This involves tapping into a network of telescopes across continents that all work collectively to observe the same object, combining their data in the process. The wider the distance between the two farthest telescopes in the network, the greater the resolution, and the more telescopes there are in the network, the greater the sensitivity.\n\nThe EHT managed to [image](https:\/\/www.space.com\/milky-way-black-hole-sagittarius-a-pictures) the black hole in the center of our [Milky Way galaxy](https:\/\/www.space.com\/19915-milky-way-galaxy.html), [Sagittarius A\\*](https:\/\/www.space.com\/sagittarius-a), as well as the black hole in the center of the elliptical galaxy M87, M87\\* — marking the first two black hole images captured by humanity — because it has a huge baseline. Think of the baseline as being the telescope's aperture. The EHT's most southern telescope is the South Pole Telescope, while its most northern station is the Greenland Telescope, which means the network spans almost top to bottom of the planet.\n\nArticle continues below\n\nYou may like\n\n- [![M87\\* and its cosmic blowtorch-like jet as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/hpLw8QjLxtFpwGinGSiYF7.png) Astronomers watch 1st black hole ever imaged launch a 3,000‑light‑year‑long cosmic jet from its glowing 'shadow'](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes\/astronomers-watch-1st-black-hole-ever-imaged-launch-a-3-000-light-year-long-cosmic-jet-from-its-glowing-shadow)\n- [![An illustration shows dark matter powering the heart of a spiral galaxy](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/69kRCSZKQ5H5nddwqCTGR3.png) Could the Milky Way galaxy's supermassive black hole actually be a clump of dark matter?](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/dark-universe\/could-the-milky-way-galaxys-supermassive-black-hole-actually-be-a-clump-of-dark-matter)\n- [![The central molecular zone and its location in the Milky Way](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/7MRALWXNbuwzLoNekxbdnD.png) World's largest radio telescope array pierces heart of our Milky Way: 'This is just the beginning'](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/galaxies\/worlds-largest-radio-telescope-array-pierces-heart-of-our-milky-way-this-is-just-the-beginning)\n\nAlong with the baseline factor, wavelength has a role to play, with lower wavelengths achieving higher resolution. The historic images of the black hole at the center of our galaxy and M87 were captured at a radio wavelength of 1.3mm. At this wavelength, the \"photon ring,\" which is the torus of emission around the event horizon with the black hole's dark shadow inside it, appears blurred — particularly in the case of Sagittarius A\\*. This is because the radio emission coming from the black hole is being partially scattered by ionized gas in the [interstellar medium](https:\/\/www.space.com\/interstellar-space-definition-explanation) between us and the object itself. This results in the light becoming smeared across an angular scale, comparable to the resolution of the EHT at 1.3mm. The smearing effect would be drastically less apparent at shorter wavelengths.\n\n**Related:** [**Stunning Photos of Our Milky Way Galaxy (Gallery)**](https:\/\/www.space.com\/14249-milkyway-galaxy-photos.html)\n\nTo this end, for the first time ever, the EHT has been able to conduct VLBI at a shorter wavelength of 0.87mm.\n\n\"With the EHT, we saw the first images of black holes by detecting radio waves at the 1.3mm wavelength, but the bright ring we saw, formed by light bending in the black hole's [gravity](https:\/\/www.space.com\/classical-gravity.html), still looked blurry because we were at the absolute limits of how sharp we could make the images,\" said Alexander Raymond, of NASA's [Jet Propulsion Laboratory](https:\/\/www.space.com\/16952-nasa-jet-propulsion-laboratory.html), in a [statement](https:\/\/eventhorizontelescope.org\/blog\/eht-makes-highest-resolution-black-hole-detections-earth). \"At 0.87mm, our images will be sharper and more detailed, which in turn will likely reveal new properties, both those that were previously predicted and maybe some that weren't.\"\n\nGet the Space.com Newsletter\n\nBreaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more\\!\n\nBy signing up, you agree to our [Terms of services](https:\\\/\\\/futureplc.com\\\/terms-conditions\\\/)  and acknowledge that you have read our [Privacy Notice](https:\\\/\\\/futureplc.com\\\/privacy-policy\\\/). You also agree to receive marketing emails from us that may include promotions from our trusted partners and sponsors, which you can unsubscribe from at any time.\n\nAchieving VLBI at 0.87mm is not an easy thing, hence why it hasn't been accomplished before. One of the difficulties has to do with water vapor in the atmosphere tending to absorb radio waves at this short wavelength, so weather would have to be very dry at all the EHT's observing sites.\n\n![A dark blue cast of earth with several small, orange dots scattered about.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/CCM9XC4Qm9w9HpCteaJrDk.jpg)\n\nThe locations of the observatories that participated in the groundbreaking Event Horizon Telescope very long baseline interferometry experiment at the short wavelength of 0.87mm. (Image credit: ESO\/M. Kornmesser)\n\nAs for those observing sites, this particular VLBI experiment involved both the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array ([ALMA](https:\/\/www.space.com\/25534-alma.html)) and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment in Chile, the Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter Range (IRAM) 30-meter telescope in Spain, the Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) in France, the Submillimeter Array (SMA) on Mauna Kea in Hawaii and the Greenland Telescope, all of which are stations for the EHT. Probing numerous [quasars](https:\/\/www.space.com\/17262-quasar-definition.html) at 0.87mm, they achieved a resolution of 19 microarcseconds.\n\nHow small is 19 microarcseconds? Well, the sky is divided into 360 degrees, with each degree consisting of 60 arcminutes, and each arcminute is further subdivided into 60 arcseconds. A microarcsecond is a millionth of an arcsecond, so 19 microarcseconds is like being able to resolve a bottle-top on the surface of [the moon](https:\/\/www.space.com\/55-earths-moon-formation-composition-and-orbit.html). It's the greatest resolution for an astronomical image ever achieved solely from the surface of the [Earth](https:\/\/www.space.com\/54-earth-history-composition-and-atmosphere.html) (although combinations of ground- and space-based telescopes have achieved similar resolutions in the past). Raymond and his colleagues actually think the EHT could resolve down to just 13 arcseconds when operating at full capacity (for example, with the inclusion of the South Pole Telescope, which was not involved in the 0.87mm test).\n\nWhat to read next\n\n- [![(Main) An illustration of the supermassive black hole M87\\* (Inset) the NASA\/JAXA mission XRISM](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/7m3KGMqKhwNrKVJp48qVvT.png) NASA X-ray spacecraft stares into the 'eye of the storm' swirling around supermassive black holes](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes\/nasa-x-ray-spacecraft-stares-into-the-eye-of-the-storm-swirling-around-supermassive-black-holes)\n- [![A pink disk of swirling gas and light is bisected by a glowing blue line of light](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/tEwkqxoNsYRnzZdBFKi4Bk.jpg) This is the sharpest view ever seen of a black hole's dusty disk](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/james-webb-space-telescope\/this-is-the-sharpest-view-ever-seen-of-a-black-holes-dusty-disk)\n- [![Images of the twisted jet of matter OJ287 erupting from a distant black hole as seen by the EHT](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/tgMzuuacJWYAtq6kqNFh8J.png) Astronomers watch 2 supermassive black holes caught in a twisted dance with never-before-seen jet behavior](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes\/astronomers-watch-2-supermassive-black-holes-caught-in-a-twisted-dance-with-never-before-seen-jet-behavior)\n\n![An image of Sagittarius A\\*, the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, which scientists think is spinning as fast as it possibly can.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/z8M8CA32rgSdPEpzVWNAjU.jpg)\n\nThe Event Horizon Telescope’s image of our Milky Way’s supermassive black hole, at a wavelength of 1.3mm. (Image credit: EHT Collaboration)\n\nThe intention now is to apply this breakthrough while taking new images of Sagittarius A\\* and the supermassive black hole in M87.\n\n\"The time is right, as the new detections prove, to advance to 0.87mm,\" said Remo Tilanus of the University of Arizona, who is the EHT's Operations Manager.\n\nThe greater resolution won't just sharpen the image of the photon ring around each black hole, but also more precisely depict their shape and size, allowing more accurate estimates of the black holes' spin rates and angle to us. It will also bring into range supermassive black holes in other galaxies, and allow us to see closer to the base of relativistic jets shooting out from active black holes such as in quasars. This could provide more answers into how a black hole's [magnetic field](https:\/\/www.space.com\/earths-magnetic-field-explained) produces jets that move at almost the [speed of light](https:\/\/www.space.com\/15830-light-speed.html) and extend out into deep space for thousands of [light-years](https:\/\/www.space.com\/light-year.html).\n\n![Side by side images of orange blobs of light around dard black circles.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/sYXznnVg2TBFHAUnM6scr7.jpg)\n\nA simulation showing the difference in sharpness between observations of a black hole at 1.3mm and at 0.87mm. (Image credit: Christian M. Fromm, Julius-Maximilian University, Würzburg)\n\nIn addition to now being able to operate at a shorter wavelength, there are plans in place for major modifications to the EHT, in a program called \"next generation EHT,\" or \"ngEHT\" for short. This will add new telescopes to the existing EHT infrastructure at locations around the world optimized to provide the greatest baselines and sensitivity, as well as improve detector facilities at the existing members of the collaboration so they can observe black holes at multiple wavelengths between 3mm and 0.87mm simultaneously.\n\nRelated Stories:\n\n— [Event Horizon Telescope spies jets erupting from nearby supermassive black hole](https:\/\/www.space.com\/supermassive-black-hole-eruption-gravity-battles-magnetism)\n\n— [New view of the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way hints at an exciting hidden feature (image)](https:\/\/www.space.com\/black-hole-milky-way-new-image-hidden-feature)\n\n— [In the last 25 years, black hole physicists have uncovered the unimaginable](https:\/\/www.space.com\/black-hole-25th-anniversary-space)\n\nAll in all, the next generation EHT is expected to increase the sharpness and clarity of black hole images by a factor of 10, perhaps even enabling high-resolution movies showing changes in the photon ring around a black hole's event horizon over [time](https:\/\/www.space.com\/time-how-it-works) as the black hole spins and accretes more matter from the surrounding [space](https:\/\/www.space.com\/24870-what-is-space.html).\n\n\"These VLBI signal detections at 0.87mm are groundbreaking since they open a new observing window for the study of supermassive black holes,\" said Thomas Krichbaum of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany in a [statement](https:\/\/www.eso.org\/public\/unitedkingdom\/news\/eso2411\/) issued by the European Southern Observatory.\n\nThe results of this groundbreaking VLBI experiment were published on Aug. 27 in [The Astronomical Journal](https:\/\/iopscience.iop.org\/article\/10.3847\/1538-3881\/ad5bdb).\n\n**Share your thoughts**\n\n0\n\n0\n\n0\n\n0\n\nRandom QuizPlay a Random Quiz\n\nFilter by Category\n\nJoin the community\n\nJoin the Space.com Family! 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Enter that code below to reset your password.\n\nSet new password\n\nPlease enter your new password below.\n\nLeaderboard\n\n| Rank | Player | Score | Time |\n|---|---|---|---|\n\nLog In or Register\n\nMore Quizzes\n\nLog Out\n\n![Keith Cooper](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/4jGWZmvsyivQZZfmLoRdQR.jpg)\n\n[Keith Cooper](https:\/\/www.space.com\/author\/keith-cooper)\n\nSocial Links Navigation\n\nContributing writer\n\nKeith Cooper is a freelance science journalist and editor in the United Kingdom, and has a degree in physics and astrophysics from the University of Manchester. He's the author of \"The Contact Paradox: Challenging Our Assumptions in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence\" (Bloomsbury Sigma, 2020) and has written articles on astronomy, space, physics and astrobiology for a multitude of magazines and websites.\n\nRead more\n\n[![M87\\* and its cosmic blowtorch-like jet as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/hpLw8QjLxtFpwGinGSiYF7.png) Black Holes Astronomers watch 1st black hole ever imaged launch a 3,000‑light‑year‑long cosmic jet from its glowing 'shadow'](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes\/astronomers-watch-1st-black-hole-ever-imaged-launch-a-3-000-light-year-long-cosmic-jet-from-its-glowing-shadow \"Astronomers watch 1st black hole ever imaged launch a 3,000‑light‑year‑long cosmic jet from its glowing 'shadow'\")\n\n[![An illustration shows dark matter powering the heart of a spiral galaxy](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/69kRCSZKQ5H5nddwqCTGR3.png) Dark Universe Could the Milky Way galaxy's supermassive black hole actually be a clump of dark matter?](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/dark-universe\/could-the-milky-way-galaxys-supermassive-black-hole-actually-be-a-clump-of-dark-matter \"Could the Milky Way galaxy's supermassive black hole actually be a clump of dark matter?\")\n\n[![The central molecular zone and its location in the Milky Way](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/7MRALWXNbuwzLoNekxbdnD.png) Galaxies World's largest radio telescope array pierces heart of our Milky Way: 'This is just the beginning'](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/galaxies\/worlds-largest-radio-telescope-array-pierces-heart-of-our-milky-way-this-is-just-the-beginning \"World's largest radio telescope array pierces heart of our Milky Way: 'This is just the beginning'\")\n\n[![(Main) An illustration of the supermassive black hole M87\\* (Inset) the NASA\/JAXA mission XRISM](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/7m3KGMqKhwNrKVJp48qVvT.png) Black Holes NASA X-ray spacecraft stares into the 'eye of the storm' swirling around supermassive black holes](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes\/nasa-x-ray-spacecraft-stares-into-the-eye-of-the-storm-swirling-around-supermassive-black-holes \"NASA X-ray spacecraft stares into the 'eye of the storm' swirling around supermassive black holes\")\n\n[![A pink disk of swirling gas and light is bisected by a glowing blue line of light](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/tEwkqxoNsYRnzZdBFKi4Bk.jpg) James Webb Space Telescope This is the sharpest view ever seen of a black hole's dusty disk](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/james-webb-space-telescope\/this-is-the-sharpest-view-ever-seen-of-a-black-holes-dusty-disk \"This is the sharpest view ever seen of a black hole's dusty disk\")\n\n[![Images of the twisted jet of matter OJ287 erupting from a distant black hole as seen by the EHT](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/tgMzuuacJWYAtq6kqNFh8J.png) Black Holes Astronomers watch 2 supermassive black holes caught in a twisted dance with never-before-seen jet behavior](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes\/astronomers-watch-2-supermassive-black-holes-caught-in-a-twisted-dance-with-never-before-seen-jet-behavior \"Astronomers watch 2 supermassive black holes caught in a twisted dance with never-before-seen jet behavior\")\n\nLatest in Black Holes\n\n[![A black circle in the center of the illustration surrounded by swirling glowing patterns spiraling outward from it. The left side is colored red while the right side is colored purple.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/JjhmXS8mFkbE5qXSnb8ggA.png) Black Holes Could our universe exist because black holes ate up all the antimatter?](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes\/could-our-universe-exist-because-black-holes-ate-up-all-the-antimatter \"Could our universe exist because black holes ate up all the antimatter?\")\n\n[![An illustration of the supermassive black hole IRAS 05189-2524 which the XRISM spacecraft watched spring back to life](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EfPEznfetDrGHyxBc9hwwQ.png) Black Holes X-ray spacecraft watches monster black hole wake up and fire cosmic bullets at starburst galaxy](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes\/x-ray-spacecraft-watches-monster-black-hole-wake-up-and-fire-cosmic-bullets-at-starburst-galaxy \"X-ray spacecraft watches monster black hole wake up and fire cosmic bullets at starburst galaxy\")\n\n[![ Illustration of an eccentric neutron star–black hole binary. The neutron star’s path is shown in blue and the black hole’s motion in orange as the two objects orbit each other.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EmaYyXsYbtCknzr4JwN2JD.png) Black Holes Black hole and neutron star mergers push the laws of physics with their odd orbits](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes\/black-hole-and-neutron-star-mergers-push-the-laws-of-physics-with-their-odd-orbits \"Black hole and neutron star mergers push the laws of physics with their odd orbits\")\n\n[![An illustration of colliding black holes setting the fabric of space ringing with gravitational waves.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AU4KyD58keEkWydH4ooKJh.png) Black Holes The universe is humming with ripples in spacetime: Scientists just doubled our catalog of black hole and neutron star collisions](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes\/the-universe-is-humming-with-ripples-in-spacetime-scientists-just-doubled-our-catalog-of-black-hole-and-neutron-star-collisions \"The universe is humming with ripples in spacetime: Scientists just doubled our catalog of black hole and neutron star collisions\")\n\n[![An image showing blobs of yellow and purple light with insets of illustrations showing what these blobs could represent.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/BdHb23dnDCzfjWzeVfdgyC.png) Black Holes Black holes! Supernovas! Merging galaxies! Oh my! Largest radio survey of the cosmos ever reveals 13.7 million powerful cosmic objects and events](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes\/black-holes-supernovas-merging-galaxies-oh-my-largest-radio-survey-of-the-cosmos-ever-reveals-13-7-million-powerful-cosmic-objects-and-events \"Black holes! Supernovas! Merging galaxies! Oh my! Largest radio survey of the cosmos ever reveals 13.7 million powerful cosmic objects and events\")\n\n[![An illustration of two black circles in the center of the screen separated by a red dot. There\\&\\#039;s a glowing blue circle around both black circles and a red semi-circle at the bottom.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/VAGT8xLGFWzj5UeRpR7pEe.png) Black Holes Starlight warped in the fabric of spacetime could help us find hidden black holes dancing together](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/black-holes\/starlight-warped-in-the-fabric-of-spacetime-could-help-us-find-hidden-black-holes-dancing-together \"Starlight warped in the fabric of spacetime could help us find hidden black holes dancing together\")\n\nLatest in News\n\n[![An orange rocket on the launchpad.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/5YtEvgyCwgCFvsTiQLmWtc.jpg) Missions 'We are ready': NASA still on track to launch Artemis 2 astronauts to the moon April 1](https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration\/missions\/we-are-ready-nasa-still-on-track-to-launch-artemis-2-astronauts-to-the-moon-april-1 \"'We are ready': NASA still on track to launch Artemis 2 astronauts to the moon April 1\")\n\n[![This Week In Space podcast: Episode 203 — China Rising](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/aUnonGnffcBdPebavgYsok.jpg) Space Movies & Shows This Week In Space podcast: Episode 203 — China Rising](https:\/\/www.space.com\/entertainment\/space-movies-shows\/this-week-in-space-podcast-episode-203-china-rising \"This Week In Space podcast: Episode 203 — China Rising\")\n\n[![A white rocket nose with the circular NASA logo stands next to the metal gantry underneath a glowing large full moon in a black night sky](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/kHi8vrw3JywVPfifSGRjgC.jpg) Artemis What time is NASA's Artemis 2 moon launch on April 1?](https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration\/artemis\/nasa-artemis-2-moon-launch-what-time \"What time is NASA's Artemis 2 moon launch on April 1?\")\n\n[![an astronaut floats above a swirling green planet](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Tt7cwV74EJuRxAM9AV683j.png) Space Movies & Shows Where should we send a real 'Hail Mary' spacecraft? A new study has the answers](https:\/\/www.space.com\/entertainment\/space-movies-shows\/where-could-we-send-a-real-hail-mary-spacecraft-a-new-study-has-the-answers \"Where should we send a real 'Hail Mary' spacecraft? A new study has the answers\")\n\n[![A close up of a sperm cell.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/RZ25JQLNdz7efZusomUjH.jpg) Human Spaceflight Can humans have babies in space? It may be harder than expected](https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration\/human-spaceflight\/having-babies-in-space-may-be-harder-than-expected \"Can humans have babies in space? It may be harder than expected\")\n\n[![a pale yellow planet surrounded by white concentric rings](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/vqgm4zqiCKvJozzWBa98NY.jpg) Saturn Are Saturn's rings made of a lost, shattered moon? New evidence arises for the case](https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/saturn\/are-saturns-rings-made-of-a-lost-shattered-moon-new-evidence-arises-for-the-case \"Are Saturn's rings made of a lost, shattered moon? New evidence arises for the case\")\n\nMORE FROM SPACE...\n\n1. [![side-by-side logos each featuring the letter \"A\" and depictions of the moon and Earth](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Lh6dS5btjf3H7aC7VqmpdF.jpg)](https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration\/artemis\/how-will-artemis-2-be-different-from-nasas-apollo-moon-missions \"How will Artemis 2 be different from NASA's Apollo moon missions?\")\n   \n   1\n   \n   [How will Artemis 2 be different from NASA's Apollo moon missions?](https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration\/artemis\/how-will-artemis-2-be-different-from-nasas-apollo-moon-missions)\n2. 2\n   \n   [Finished Starfleet Academy? Explore the animated antics of Star Trek: Lower Decks for just \\$2.99 a month](https:\/\/www.space.com\/entertainment\/space-movies-shows\/finished-starfleet-academy-explore-the-animated-antics-of-star-trek-lower-decks-for-just-2-99-a-month)\n3. 3\n   \n   [Watch SpaceX launch 119 payloads to orbit from California early on March 30](https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration\/launches-spacecraft\/spacex-transporter-16-rideshare-mission-launch)\n4. 4\n   \n   ['We are ready': NASA still on track to launch Artemis 2 astronauts to the moon April 1](https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration\/missions\/we-are-ready-nasa-still-on-track-to-launch-artemis-2-astronauts-to-the-moon-april-1)\n5. 5\n   \n   ['Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4': Release date, plot, factions, & everything else we know about the upcoming 40K strategy game](https:\/\/www.space.com\/entertainment\/space-games\/warhammer-40-000-dawn-of-war-4-release-date-plot-factions-and-everything-else-we-know-about-the-upcoming-40k-strategy-game)\n\nSpace is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. 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Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.\n\nClose\n\nPlease login or signup to comment\n\nPlease wait...\n\nLogin\n\nSign Up","attrs_readable_markdown":"The [Event Horizon Telescope](https:\/\/www.space.com\/event-horizon-telescope.html) (EHT), which is a collaboration of radio telescopes all around the world that operate in unison to image [supermassive black holes](https:\/\/www.space.com\/supermassive-black-hole), has achieved its finest resolution yet. In the future, this accomplishment could lead to images of the ring of light around a [black hole's](https:\/\/www.space.com\/15421-black-holes-facts-formation-discovery-sdcmp.html) [event horizon](https:\/\/www.space.com\/black-holes-event-horizon-explained.html) that are 50% sharper, resolving hitherto unseen details and producing movies of how the black holes change as they spin.\n\nThe EHT works on the principle of \"very long baseline interferometry,\" or VLBI for short. This involves tapping into a network of telescopes across continents that all work collectively to observe the same object, combining their data in the process. The wider the distance between the two farthest telescopes in the network, the greater the resolution, and the more telescopes there are in the network, the greater the sensitivity.\n\nThe EHT managed to [image](https:\/\/www.space.com\/milky-way-black-hole-sagittarius-a-pictures) the black hole in the center of our [Milky Way galaxy](https:\/\/www.space.com\/19915-milky-way-galaxy.html), [Sagittarius A\\*](https:\/\/www.space.com\/sagittarius-a), as well as the black hole in the center of the elliptical galaxy M87, M87\\* — marking the first two black hole images captured by humanity — because it has a huge baseline. Think of the baseline as being the telescope's aperture. The EHT's most southern telescope is the South Pole Telescope, while its most northern station is the Greenland Telescope, which means the network spans almost top to bottom of the planet.\n\nArticle continues below\n\nAlong with the baseline factor, wavelength has a role to play, with lower wavelengths achieving higher resolution. The historic images of the black hole at the center of our galaxy and M87 were captured at a radio wavelength of 1.3mm. At this wavelength, the \"photon ring,\" which is the torus of emission around the event horizon with the black hole's dark shadow inside it, appears blurred — particularly in the case of Sagittarius A\\*. This is because the radio emission coming from the black hole is being partially scattered by ionized gas in the [interstellar medium](https:\/\/www.space.com\/interstellar-space-definition-explanation) between us and the object itself. This results in the light becoming smeared across an angular scale, comparable to the resolution of the EHT at 1.3mm. The smearing effect would be drastically less apparent at shorter wavelengths.\n\n**Related:** [**Stunning Photos of Our Milky Way Galaxy (Gallery)**](https:\/\/www.space.com\/14249-milkyway-galaxy-photos.html)\n\nTo this end, for the first time ever, the EHT has been able to conduct VLBI at a shorter wavelength of 0.87mm.\n\n\"With the EHT, we saw the first images of black holes by detecting radio waves at the 1.3mm wavelength, but the bright ring we saw, formed by light bending in the black hole's [gravity](https:\/\/www.space.com\/classical-gravity.html), still looked blurry because we were at the absolute limits of how sharp we could make the images,\" said Alexander Raymond, of NASA's [Jet Propulsion Laboratory](https:\/\/www.space.com\/16952-nasa-jet-propulsion-laboratory.html), in a [statement](https:\/\/eventhorizontelescope.org\/blog\/eht-makes-highest-resolution-black-hole-detections-earth). \"At 0.87mm, our images will be sharper and more detailed, which in turn will likely reveal new properties, both those that were previously predicted and maybe some that weren't.\"\n\nBreaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more\\!\n\nAchieving VLBI at 0.87mm is not an easy thing, hence why it hasn't been accomplished before. One of the difficulties has to do with water vapor in the atmosphere tending to absorb radio waves at this short wavelength, so weather would have to be very dry at all the EHT's observing sites.\n\n![A dark blue cast of earth with several small, orange dots scattered about.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/CCM9XC4Qm9w9HpCteaJrDk.jpg)\n\nThe locations of the observatories that participated in the groundbreaking Event Horizon Telescope very long baseline interferometry experiment at the short wavelength of 0.87mm. (Image credit: ESO\/M. Kornmesser)\n\nAs for those observing sites, this particular VLBI experiment involved both the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array ([ALMA](https:\/\/www.space.com\/25534-alma.html)) and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment in Chile, the Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter Range (IRAM) 30-meter telescope in Spain, the Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) in France, the Submillimeter Array (SMA) on Mauna Kea in Hawaii and the Greenland Telescope, all of which are stations for the EHT. Probing numerous [quasars](https:\/\/www.space.com\/17262-quasar-definition.html) at 0.87mm, they achieved a resolution of 19 microarcseconds.\n\nHow small is 19 microarcseconds? Well, the sky is divided into 360 degrees, with each degree consisting of 60 arcminutes, and each arcminute is further subdivided into 60 arcseconds. A microarcsecond is a millionth of an arcsecond, so 19 microarcseconds is like being able to resolve a bottle-top on the surface of [the moon](https:\/\/www.space.com\/55-earths-moon-formation-composition-and-orbit.html). It's the greatest resolution for an astronomical image ever achieved solely from the surface of the [Earth](https:\/\/www.space.com\/54-earth-history-composition-and-atmosphere.html) (although combinations of ground- and space-based telescopes have achieved similar resolutions in the past). Raymond and his colleagues actually think the EHT could resolve down to just 13 arcseconds when operating at full capacity (for example, with the inclusion of the South Pole Telescope, which was not involved in the 0.87mm test).\n\n![An image of Sagittarius A\\*, the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, which scientists think is spinning as fast as it possibly can.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/z8M8CA32rgSdPEpzVWNAjU.jpg)\n\nThe Event Horizon Telescope’s image of our Milky Way’s supermassive black hole, at a wavelength of 1.3mm. (Image credit: EHT Collaboration)\n\nThe intention now is to apply this breakthrough while taking new images of Sagittarius A\\* and the supermassive black hole in M87.\n\n\"The time is right, as the new detections prove, to advance to 0.87mm,\" said Remo Tilanus of the University of Arizona, who is the EHT's Operations Manager.\n\nThe greater resolution won't just sharpen the image of the photon ring around each black hole, but also more precisely depict their shape and size, allowing more accurate estimates of the black holes' spin rates and angle to us. It will also bring into range supermassive black holes in other galaxies, and allow us to see closer to the base of relativistic jets shooting out from active black holes such as in quasars. This could provide more answers into how a black hole's [magnetic field](https:\/\/www.space.com\/earths-magnetic-field-explained) produces jets that move at almost the [speed of light](https:\/\/www.space.com\/15830-light-speed.html) and extend out into deep space for thousands of [light-years](https:\/\/www.space.com\/light-year.html).\n\n![Side by side images of orange blobs of light around dard black circles.](https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/sYXznnVg2TBFHAUnM6scr7.jpg)\n\nA simulation showing the difference in sharpness between observations of a black hole at 1.3mm and at 0.87mm. (Image credit: Christian M. Fromm, Julius-Maximilian University, Würzburg)\n\nIn addition to now being able to operate at a shorter wavelength, there are plans in place for major modifications to the EHT, in a program called \"next generation EHT,\" or \"ngEHT\" for short. This will add new telescopes to the existing EHT infrastructure at locations around the world optimized to provide the greatest baselines and sensitivity, as well as improve detector facilities at the existing members of the collaboration so they can observe black holes at multiple wavelengths between 3mm and 0.87mm simultaneously.\n\nRelated Stories:\n\nAll in all, the next generation EHT is expected to increase the sharpness and clarity of black hole images by a factor of 10, perhaps even enabling high-resolution movies showing changes in the photon ring around a black hole's event horizon over [time](https:\/\/www.space.com\/time-how-it-works) as the black hole spins and accretes more matter from the surrounding [space](https:\/\/www.space.com\/24870-what-is-space.html).\n\n\"These VLBI signal detections at 0.87mm are groundbreaking since they open a new observing window for the study of supermassive black holes,\" said Thomas Krichbaum of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany in a [statement](https:\/\/www.eso.org\/public\/unitedkingdom\/news\/eso2411\/) issued by the European Southern Observatory.\n\nThe results of this groundbreaking VLBI experiment were published on Aug. 27 in [The Astronomical Journal](https:\/\/iopscience.iop.org\/article\/10.3847\/1538-3881\/ad5bdb).\n\n**Share your thoughts**\n\n0\n\n0\n\n0\n\n0\n\nJoin the community\n\nJoin the Space.com Family! The best way to keep in touch and to be informed of our latest quizzes and competitions, as well as news and offers.\n\nAlready have an account? Log in\n\nMy Details\n\nUpdate your details below...\n\nKeep in the Know\n\nWould you like to be kept informed about new quizzes and offers from Future and its partners?\n\nValidate Your Mobile No.\n\nWe have sent a code to . Please enter it below to verify your account.\n\nUpdate Your Mobile No.\n\nYou may enter a new mobile number below. You will be sent a verification code to the phone number you provide.\n\nembed-reactions.hint\\_heading\n\nembed-reactions.hint\\_subheading\n\nValidate Your Email Address\n\nWe have sent a code to . Please enter it below to verify your account.\n\nUpdate Your Email Address\n\nYou may enter a new email address below. You will be sent a verification code to the address you provide.\n\nCreate a Username\n\nThis will be publicly viewable so make it something you like\\!\n\nReset your password\n\nEnter your email address below. If it is registered with us, we will email you a code that will allow you to reset your password.\n\nCheck your inbox\n\nIf your email address was found in our system, you should receive an email in the next few minutes containing a code. Enter that code below to reset your password.\n\nSet new password\n\nPlease enter your new password below.\n\nLeaderboard\n\n| Rank | Player | Score | Time |\n|---|---|---|---|\n\nKeith Cooper is a freelance science journalist and editor in the United Kingdom, and has a degree in physics and astrophysics from the University of Manchester. He's the author of \"The Contact Paradox: Challenging Our Assumptions in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence\" (Bloomsbury Sigma, 2020) and has written articles on astronomy, space, physics and astrobiology for a multitude of magazines and websites.","meta_canonical":null}

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URL	https://www.space.com/event-horizon-black-hole-image-tests
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Meta Title	The 1st Milky Way black hole image was groundbreaking — the next could be even better \| Space
Meta Description	By demonstrating the ability for joint observations at the short radio wavelength of 0.87mm, the Event Horizon Telescope has improved its observational acuity by half.
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Boilerpipe Text	The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), which is a collaboration of radio telescopes all around the world that operate in unison to image supermassive black holes , has achieved its finest resolution yet. In the future, this accomplishment could lead to images of the ring of light around a black hole's event horizon that are 50% sharper, resolving hitherto unseen details and producing movies of how the black holes change as they spin. The EHT works on the principle of "very long baseline interferometry," or VLBI for short. This involves tapping into a network of telescopes across continents that all work collectively to observe the same object, combining their data in the process. The wider the distance between the two farthest telescopes in the network, the greater the resolution, and the more telescopes there are in the network, the greater the sensitivity. The EHT managed to image the black hole in the center of our Milky Way galaxy , Sagittarius A* , as well as the black hole in the center of the elliptical galaxy M87, M87* — marking the first two black hole images captured by humanity — because it has a huge baseline. Think of the baseline as being the telescope's aperture. The EHT's most southern telescope is the South Pole Telescope, while its most northern station is the Greenland Telescope, which means the network spans almost top to bottom of the planet. Article continues below Along with the baseline factor, wavelength has a role to play, with lower wavelengths achieving higher resolution. The historic images of the black hole at the center of our galaxy and M87 were captured at a radio wavelength of 1.3mm. At this wavelength, the "photon ring," which is the torus of emission around the event horizon with the black hole's dark shadow inside it, appears blurred — particularly in the case of Sagittarius A. This is because the radio emission coming from the black hole is being partially scattered by ionized gas in the interstellar medium between us and the object itself. This results in the light becoming smeared across an angular scale, comparable to the resolution of the EHT at 1.3mm. The smearing effect would be drastically less apparent at shorter wavelengths. Related: Stunning Photos of Our Milky Way Galaxy (Gallery) To this end, for the first time ever, the EHT has been able to conduct VLBI at a shorter wavelength of 0.87mm. "With the EHT, we saw the first images of black holes by detecting radio waves at the 1.3mm wavelength, but the bright ring we saw, formed by light bending in the black hole's gravity , still looked blurry because we were at the absolute limits of how sharp we could make the images," said Alexander Raymond, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory , in a statement . "At 0.87mm, our images will be sharper and more detailed, which in turn will likely reveal new properties, both those that were previously predicted and maybe some that weren't." Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! Achieving VLBI at 0.87mm is not an easy thing, hence why it hasn't been accomplished before. One of the difficulties has to do with water vapor in the atmosphere tending to absorb radio waves at this short wavelength, so weather would have to be very dry at all the EHT's observing sites. The locations of the observatories that participated in the groundbreaking Event Horizon Telescope very long baseline interferometry experiment at the short wavelength of 0.87mm. (Image credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser) As for those observing sites, this particular VLBI experiment involved both the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array ( ALMA ) and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment in Chile, the Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter Range (IRAM) 30-meter telescope in Spain, the Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) in France, the Submillimeter Array (SMA) on Mauna Kea in Hawaii and the Greenland Telescope, all of which are stations for the EHT. Probing numerous quasars at 0.87mm, they achieved a resolution of 19 microarcseconds. How small is 19 microarcseconds? Well, the sky is divided into 360 degrees, with each degree consisting of 60 arcminutes, and each arcminute is further subdivided into 60 arcseconds. A microarcsecond is a millionth of an arcsecond, so 19 microarcseconds is like being able to resolve a bottle-top on the surface of the moon . It's the greatest resolution for an astronomical image ever achieved solely from the surface of the Earth (although combinations of ground- and space-based telescopes have achieved similar resolutions in the past). Raymond and his colleagues actually think the EHT could resolve down to just 13 arcseconds when operating at full capacity (for example, with the inclusion of the South Pole Telescope, which was not involved in the 0.87mm test). The Event Horizon Telescope’s image of our Milky Way’s supermassive black hole, at a wavelength of 1.3mm. (Image credit: EHT Collaboration) The intention now is to apply this breakthrough while taking new images of Sagittarius A and the supermassive black hole in M87. "The time is right, as the new detections prove, to advance to 0.87mm," said Remo Tilanus of the University of Arizona, who is the EHT's Operations Manager. The greater resolution won't just sharpen the image of the photon ring around each black hole, but also more precisely depict their shape and size, allowing more accurate estimates of the black holes' spin rates and angle to us. It will also bring into range supermassive black holes in other galaxies, and allow us to see closer to the base of relativistic jets shooting out from active black holes such as in quasars. This could provide more answers into how a black hole's magnetic field produces jets that move at almost the speed of light and extend out into deep space for thousands of light-years . A simulation showing the difference in sharpness between observations of a black hole at 1.3mm and at 0.87mm. (Image credit: Christian M. Fromm, Julius-Maximilian University, Würzburg) In addition to now being able to operate at a shorter wavelength, there are plans in place for major modifications to the EHT, in a program called "next generation EHT," or "ngEHT" for short. This will add new telescopes to the existing EHT infrastructure at locations around the world optimized to provide the greatest baselines and sensitivity, as well as improve detector facilities at the existing members of the collaboration so they can observe black holes at multiple wavelengths between 3mm and 0.87mm simultaneously. Related Stories: All in all, the next generation EHT is expected to increase the sharpness and clarity of black hole images by a factor of 10, perhaps even enabling high-resolution movies showing changes in the photon ring around a black hole's event horizon over time as the black hole spins and accretes more matter from the surrounding space . "These VLBI signal detections at 0.87mm are groundbreaking since they open a new observing window for the study of supermassive black holes," said Thomas Krichbaum of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany in a statement issued by the European Southern Observatory. The results of this groundbreaking VLBI experiment were published on Aug. 27 in The Astronomical Journal . Share your thoughts 0 0 0 0 Join the community Join the Space.com Family! The best way to keep in touch and to be informed of our latest quizzes and competitions, as well as news and offers. Already have an account? Log in Log In Forgotten your password? Reset it Not got an account? Register My Details Update your details below... Keep in the Know Would you like to be kept informed about new quizzes and offers from Future and its partners? Validate Your Mobile No. We have sent a code to . Please enter it below to verify your account. Update mobile number Resend code Update Your Mobile No. You may enter a new mobile number below. You will be sent a verification code to the phone number you provide. Cancel embed-reactions.hint_heading embed-reactions.hint_subheading Validate Your Email Address We have sent a code to . Please enter it below to verify your account. Update email address Resend code Update Your Email Address You may enter a new email address below. You will be sent a verification code to the address you provide. Cancel Create a Username This will be publicly viewable so make it something you like! Reset your password Enter your email address below. If it is registered with us, we will email you a code that will allow you to reset your password. Check your inbox If your email address was found in our system, you should receive an email in the next few minutes containing a code. Enter that code below to reset your password. Set new password Please enter your new password below. Leaderboard Rank Player Score Time Keith Cooper is a freelance science journalist and editor in the United Kingdom, and has a degree in physics and astrophysics from the University of Manchester. He's the author of "The Contact Paradox: Challenging Our Assumptions in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence" (Bloomsbury Sigma, 2020) and has written articles on astronomy, space, physics and astrobiology for a multitude of magazines and websites.
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[![Two blue and white spirals of light are intertwined in the darkness of space](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jKJ7LmegLNWvreY7He3etm.jpg) Galaxies Space telescopes capture breathtaking galactic hug \\| Space photo of the day for Jan. 8, 2026](https://www.space.com/astronomy/galaxies/space-telescopes-capture-breathtaking-galactic-hug-space-photo-of-the-day-for-jan-8-2026 "Space telescopes capture breathtaking galactic hug \| Space photo of the day for Jan. 8, 2026") [![An illustration of an orange sphere in space surrounded by a gray ring of material.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hTJ5qiXjJQFJW3jj2fL9HK.png) Stars Astronomers just watched a star 1,540 times the size of our sun transform into a hypergiant. Will it go supernova?](https://www.space.com/astronomy/stars/astronomers-just-watched-a-star-1-540-times-the-size-of-our-sun-transform-into-a-hypergiant-will-it-go-supernova "Astronomers just watched a star 1,540 times the size of our sun transform into a hypergiant. Will it go supernova?") [![A speculative illustration of tiny primordial black holes. Have physicists just seen one explode?](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2zwJQfcoh55WtPyoSDqgc5.jpg) Black Holes Did astronomers see a black hole explode? An 'impossible' particle that hit Earth in 2023 may tell us](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/did-astronomers-see-a-black-hole-explode-an-impossible-particle-that-hit-earth-in-2023-may-tell-us "Did astronomers see a black hole explode? An 'impossible' particle that hit Earth in 2023 may tell us") [![A grid showing 18 dusty galaxies that look like reddish splotches and golden splotches.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vuTiXc9HXtEpvxdpxusebF.png) James Webb Space Telescope These 70 dusty galaxies at the edge of our universe could rewrite our understanding of the cosmos](https://www.space.com/astronomy/james-webb-space-telescope/these-70-dusty-galaxies-at-the-edge-of-our-universe-could-rewrite-our-understanding-of-the-cosmos "These 70 dusty galaxies at the edge of our universe could rewrite our understanding of the cosmos") [![Pink structures looks like dots all across the image. There\&\#039;s a boxout that shows a magnified view of one section. One small portion of that magnification represents 10 million light-years. ](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ZQyHA4S4kaqxqpH4soe5z4.jpg) Astronomy Astronomers unveil largest 3D universe map of its kind, illuminating 'hidden' cosmic structures](https://www.space.com/astronomy/astronomers-unveil-largest-3d-map-yet-of-hydrogen-light-in-the-early-universe-illuminating-hidden-cosmic-structures "Astronomers unveil largest 3D universe map of its kind, illuminating 'hidden' cosmic structures") [![The Milky Way shines over the Very Large Telescope in Chile, as lasers arc skyward from the four background telescopes.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CQAvtgceL25kkGrh4vJSLk.jpg) Astronomy Lasers beam 'artificial stars' above Chile \\| Space photo of the day for Feb. 17, 2026](https://www.space.com/astronomy/lasers-beam-artificial-stars-above-chile-space-photo-of-the-day-for-feb-17-2026 "Lasers beam 'artificial stars' above Chile \| Space photo of the day for Feb. 17, 2026") [![Screenshot from a new NASA animation highlighting some of the universe\&\#039;s biggest black holes, including the record-holding TON 618, which is about as massive as 60 billion suns.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LonKAe8kapjmivFoVTBLRX.jpeg) James Webb Space Telescope James Webb Space Telescope reveals new origin story for the universe's 1st supermassive black holes](https://www.space.com/astronomy/james-webb-space-telescope/james-webb-space-telescope-data-backs-new-origin-story-for-the-universes-1st-supermassive-black-holes "James Webb Space Telescope reveals new origin story for the universe's 1st supermassive black holes") [![(Main) a superluminous supernova (Inset) a highly magnetic rapidly spinning neutron star or magnetar](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/q8yntMd3NymDrTyuyLgC24.png) Stars Astronomers witness colossal supernova explosion create one of the most magnetic stars in the universe for the first time](https://www.space.com/astronomy/stars/astronomers-witness-colossal-supernova-explosion-create-one-of-the-most-magnetic-stars-in-the-universe-for-the-first-time "Astronomers witness colossal supernova explosion create one of the most magnetic stars in the universe for the first time") [![UHZ1, a record breaking galaxy 13.2 billion light-years away, seen when the universe was only 3% of its current age harboring a supermassive black hole that could not have possibly been seeded even by regular stars](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Yf35bSMdkf4sgjiybEnzFb.png) Black Holes What are 'dark' stars? Scientists think they could explain 3 big mysteries in the universe](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/what-are-dark-stars-scientists-think-they-could-explain-3-big-mysteries-in-the-universe "What are 'dark' stars? Scientists think they could explain 3 big mysteries in the universe") [![An illustration of the supermassive black hole IRAS 05189-2524 which the XRISM spacecraft watched spring back to life](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EfPEznfetDrGHyxBc9hwwQ.png) Black Holes X-ray spacecraft watches monster black hole wake up and fire cosmic bullets at starburst galaxy](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/x-ray-spacecraft-watches-monster-black-hole-wake-up-and-fire-cosmic-bullets-at-starburst-galaxy "X-ray spacecraft watches monster black hole wake up and fire cosmic bullets at starburst galaxy") [![An illustration shows dark matter powering the heart of a spiral galaxy](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/69kRCSZKQ5H5nddwqCTGR3.png) Dark Universe Could the Milky Way galaxy's supermassive black hole actually be a clump of dark matter?](https://www.space.com/astronomy/dark-universe/could-the-milky-way-galaxys-supermassive-black-hole-actually-be-a-clump-of-dark-matter "Could the Milky Way galaxy's supermassive black hole actually be a clump of dark matter?") 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[Astronomy](https://www.space.com/astronomy) 2. [Black Holes](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes) # The 1st Milky Way black hole image was groundbreaking — the next could be even better [News](https://www.space.com/news) By [Keith Cooper](https://www.space.com/author/keith-cooper) published September 5, 2024 The Event Horizon Telescope’s new abilities will help it see more details in the ring of light surrounding a black hole’s shadow. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. [Here’s how it works](https://www.space.com/41418-about-us.html#section-affiliate-advertising-disclosure). 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You also agree to receive marketing emails from us that may include promotions from our trusted partners and sponsors, which you can unsubscribe from at any time. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful * Want to add more newsletters? ![Daily Newsletter](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vfpcxVDrtfCysGSjzYjeSg.png) Delivered daily Daily Newsletter Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more\! Subscribe + ![Watch This Space](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tjzmFi262iKuxrcCtSghKg.jpg) Once a month Watch This Space Sign up to our monthly entertainment newsletter to keep up with all our coverage of the latest sci-fi and space movies, tv shows, games and books. Subscribe + ![Night Sky This Week](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qsHaEcQ6H695rhBoNZdK5g.jpg) Once a week Night Sky This Week Discover this week's must-see night sky events, moon phases, and stunning astrophotos. Sign up for our skywatching newsletter and explore the universe with us\! Subscribe + ![Strange New Words](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Mk2LrCm68RFHzQhNyQaH2Y.jpg) Twice a month Strange New Words Space.com's Sci-Fi Reader's Club. Read a sci-fi short story every month and join a virtual community of fellow science fiction fans\! Subscribe + *** An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter The [Event Horizon Telescope](https://www.space.com/event-horizon-telescope.html) (EHT), which is a collaboration of radio telescopes all around the world that operate in unison to image [supermassive black holes](https://www.space.com/supermassive-black-hole), has achieved its finest resolution yet. In the future, this accomplishment could lead to images of the ring of light around a [black hole's](https://www.space.com/15421-black-holes-facts-formation-discovery-sdcmp.html) [event horizon](https://www.space.com/black-holes-event-horizon-explained.html) that are 50% sharper, resolving hitherto unseen details and producing movies of how the black holes change as they spin. The EHT works on the principle of "very long baseline interferometry," or VLBI for short. This involves tapping into a network of telescopes across continents that all work collectively to observe the same object, combining their data in the process. The wider the distance between the two farthest telescopes in the network, the greater the resolution, and the more telescopes there are in the network, the greater the sensitivity. The EHT managed to [image](https://www.space.com/milky-way-black-hole-sagittarius-a-pictures) the black hole in the center of our [Milky Way galaxy](https://www.space.com/19915-milky-way-galaxy.html), [Sagittarius A\](https://www.space.com/sagittarius-a), as well as the black hole in the center of the elliptical galaxy M87, M87\ — marking the first two black hole images captured by humanity — because it has a huge baseline. Think of the baseline as being the telescope's aperture. The EHT's most southern telescope is the South Pole Telescope, while its most northern station is the Greenland Telescope, which means the network spans almost top to bottom of the planet. Article continues below You may like - [![M87\* and its cosmic blowtorch-like jet as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hpLw8QjLxtFpwGinGSiYF7.png) Astronomers watch 1st black hole ever imaged launch a 3,000‑light‑year‑long cosmic jet from its glowing 'shadow'](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/astronomers-watch-1st-black-hole-ever-imaged-launch-a-3-000-light-year-long-cosmic-jet-from-its-glowing-shadow) - [![An illustration shows dark matter powering the heart of a spiral galaxy](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/69kRCSZKQ5H5nddwqCTGR3.png) Could the Milky Way galaxy's supermassive black hole actually be a clump of dark matter?](https://www.space.com/astronomy/dark-universe/could-the-milky-way-galaxys-supermassive-black-hole-actually-be-a-clump-of-dark-matter) - [![The central molecular zone and its location in the Milky Way](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7MRALWXNbuwzLoNekxbdnD.png) World's largest radio telescope array pierces heart of our Milky Way: 'This is just the beginning'](https://www.space.com/astronomy/galaxies/worlds-largest-radio-telescope-array-pierces-heart-of-our-milky-way-this-is-just-the-beginning) Along with the baseline factor, wavelength has a role to play, with lower wavelengths achieving higher resolution. The historic images of the black hole at the center of our galaxy and M87 were captured at a radio wavelength of 1.3mm. At this wavelength, the "photon ring," which is the torus of emission around the event horizon with the black hole's dark shadow inside it, appears blurred — particularly in the case of Sagittarius A\. This is because the radio emission coming from the black hole is being partially scattered by ionized gas in the [interstellar medium](https://www.space.com/interstellar-space-definition-explanation) between us and the object itself. This results in the light becoming smeared across an angular scale, comparable to the resolution of the EHT at 1.3mm. The smearing effect would be drastically less apparent at shorter wavelengths. Related:* [Stunning Photos of Our Milky Way Galaxy (Gallery)](https://www.space.com/14249-milkyway-galaxy-photos.html) To this end, for the first time ever, the EHT has been able to conduct VLBI at a shorter wavelength of 0.87mm. "With the EHT, we saw the first images of black holes by detecting radio waves at the 1.3mm wavelength, but the bright ring we saw, formed by light bending in the black hole's [gravity](https://www.space.com/classical-gravity.html), still looked blurry because we were at the absolute limits of how sharp we could make the images," said Alexander Raymond, of NASA's [Jet Propulsion Laboratory](https://www.space.com/16952-nasa-jet-propulsion-laboratory.html), in a [statement](https://eventhorizontelescope.org/blog/eht-makes-highest-resolution-black-hole-detections-earth). "At 0.87mm, our images will be sharper and more detailed, which in turn will likely reveal new properties, both those that were previously predicted and maybe some that weren't." Get the Space.com Newsletter Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more\! By signing up, you agree to our [Terms of services](https:\/\/futureplc.com\/terms-conditions\/) and acknowledge that you have read our [Privacy Notice](https:\/\/futureplc.com\/privacy-policy\/). You also agree to receive marketing emails from us that may include promotions from our trusted partners and sponsors, which you can unsubscribe from at any time. Achieving VLBI at 0.87mm is not an easy thing, hence why it hasn't been accomplished before. One of the difficulties has to do with water vapor in the atmosphere tending to absorb radio waves at this short wavelength, so weather would have to be very dry at all the EHT's observing sites. ![A dark blue cast of earth with several small, orange dots scattered about.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CCM9XC4Qm9w9HpCteaJrDk.jpg) The locations of the observatories that participated in the groundbreaking Event Horizon Telescope very long baseline interferometry experiment at the short wavelength of 0.87mm. (Image credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser) As for those observing sites, this particular VLBI experiment involved both the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array ([ALMA](https://www.space.com/25534-alma.html)) and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment in Chile, the Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter Range (IRAM) 30-meter telescope in Spain, the Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) in France, the Submillimeter Array (SMA) on Mauna Kea in Hawaii and the Greenland Telescope, all of which are stations for the EHT. Probing numerous [quasars](https://www.space.com/17262-quasar-definition.html) at 0.87mm, they achieved a resolution of 19 microarcseconds. How small is 19 microarcseconds? Well, the sky is divided into 360 degrees, with each degree consisting of 60 arcminutes, and each arcminute is further subdivided into 60 arcseconds. A microarcsecond is a millionth of an arcsecond, so 19 microarcseconds is like being able to resolve a bottle-top on the surface of [the moon](https://www.space.com/55-earths-moon-formation-composition-and-orbit.html). It's the greatest resolution for an astronomical image ever achieved solely from the surface of the [Earth](https://www.space.com/54-earth-history-composition-and-atmosphere.html) (although combinations of ground- and space-based telescopes have achieved similar resolutions in the past). Raymond and his colleagues actually think the EHT could resolve down to just 13 arcseconds when operating at full capacity (for example, with the inclusion of the South Pole Telescope, which was not involved in the 0.87mm test). What to read next - [![(Main) An illustration of the supermassive black hole M87\* (Inset) the NASA/JAXA mission XRISM](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7m3KGMqKhwNrKVJp48qVvT.png) NASA X-ray spacecraft stares into the 'eye of the storm' swirling around supermassive black holes](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/nasa-x-ray-spacecraft-stares-into-the-eye-of-the-storm-swirling-around-supermassive-black-holes) - [![A pink disk of swirling gas and light is bisected by a glowing blue line of light](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tEwkqxoNsYRnzZdBFKi4Bk.jpg) This is the sharpest view ever seen of a black hole's dusty disk](https://www.space.com/astronomy/james-webb-space-telescope/this-is-the-sharpest-view-ever-seen-of-a-black-holes-dusty-disk) - [![Images of the twisted jet of matter OJ287 erupting from a distant black hole as seen by the EHT](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tgMzuuacJWYAtq6kqNFh8J.png) Astronomers watch 2 supermassive black holes caught in a twisted dance with never-before-seen jet behavior](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/astronomers-watch-2-supermassive-black-holes-caught-in-a-twisted-dance-with-never-before-seen-jet-behavior) ![An image of Sagittarius A\, the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, which scientists think is spinning as fast as it possibly can.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z8M8CA32rgSdPEpzVWNAjU.jpg) The Event Horizon Telescope’s image of our Milky Way’s supermassive black hole, at a wavelength of 1.3mm. (Image credit: EHT Collaboration) The intention now is to apply this breakthrough while taking new images of Sagittarius A\ and the supermassive black hole in M87. "The time is right, as the new detections prove, to advance to 0.87mm," said Remo Tilanus of the University of Arizona, who is the EHT's Operations Manager. The greater resolution won't just sharpen the image of the photon ring around each black hole, but also more precisely depict their shape and size, allowing more accurate estimates of the black holes' spin rates and angle to us. It will also bring into range supermassive black holes in other galaxies, and allow us to see closer to the base of relativistic jets shooting out from active black holes such as in quasars. This could provide more answers into how a black hole's [magnetic field](https://www.space.com/earths-magnetic-field-explained) produces jets that move at almost the [speed of light](https://www.space.com/15830-light-speed.html) and extend out into deep space for thousands of [light-years](https://www.space.com/light-year.html). ![Side by side images of orange blobs of light around dard black circles.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sYXznnVg2TBFHAUnM6scr7.jpg) A simulation showing the difference in sharpness between observations of a black hole at 1.3mm and at 0.87mm. (Image credit: Christian M. Fromm, Julius-Maximilian University, Würzburg) In addition to now being able to operate at a shorter wavelength, there are plans in place for major modifications to the EHT, in a program called "next generation EHT," or "ngEHT" for short. This will add new telescopes to the existing EHT infrastructure at locations around the world optimized to provide the greatest baselines and sensitivity, as well as improve detector facilities at the existing members of the collaboration so they can observe black holes at multiple wavelengths between 3mm and 0.87mm simultaneously. Related Stories: — [Event Horizon Telescope spies jets erupting from nearby supermassive black hole](https://www.space.com/supermassive-black-hole-eruption-gravity-battles-magnetism) — [New view of the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way hints at an exciting hidden feature (image)](https://www.space.com/black-hole-milky-way-new-image-hidden-feature) — [In the last 25 years, black hole physicists have uncovered the unimaginable](https://www.space.com/black-hole-25th-anniversary-space) All in all, the next generation EHT is expected to increase the sharpness and clarity of black hole images by a factor of 10, perhaps even enabling high-resolution movies showing changes in the photon ring around a black hole's event horizon over [time](https://www.space.com/time-how-it-works) as the black hole spins and accretes more matter from the surrounding [space](https://www.space.com/24870-what-is-space.html). "These VLBI signal detections at 0.87mm are groundbreaking since they open a new observing window for the study of supermassive black holes," said Thomas Krichbaum of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany in a [statement](https://www.eso.org/public/unitedkingdom/news/eso2411/) issued by the European Southern Observatory. The results of this groundbreaking VLBI experiment were published on Aug. 27 in [The Astronomical Journal](https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ad5bdb). Share your thoughts 0 0 0 0 Random QuizPlay a Random Quiz Filter by Category Join the community Join the Space.com Family! The best way to keep in touch and to be informed of our latest quizzes and competitions, as well as news and offers. I'm in\! Not right now Already have an account? Log in This page will close automatically once you have completed the authorisation process My Details Update your details below... 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Check your inbox If your email address was found in our system, you should receive an email in the next few minutes containing a code. Enter that code below to reset your password. Set new password Please enter your new password below. Leaderboard \| Rank \| Player \| Score \| Time \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| Log In or Register More Quizzes Log Out ![Keith Cooper](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4jGWZmvsyivQZZfmLoRdQR.jpg) [Keith Cooper](https://www.space.com/author/keith-cooper) Social Links Navigation Contributing writer Keith Cooper is a freelance science journalist and editor in the United Kingdom, and has a degree in physics and astrophysics from the University of Manchester. He's the author of "The Contact Paradox: Challenging Our Assumptions in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence" (Bloomsbury Sigma, 2020) and has written articles on astronomy, space, physics and astrobiology for a multitude of magazines and websites. Read more [![M87\* and its cosmic blowtorch-like jet as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hpLw8QjLxtFpwGinGSiYF7.png) Black Holes Astronomers watch 1st black hole ever imaged launch a 3,000‑light‑year‑long cosmic jet from its glowing 'shadow'](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/astronomers-watch-1st-black-hole-ever-imaged-launch-a-3-000-light-year-long-cosmic-jet-from-its-glowing-shadow "Astronomers watch 1st black hole ever imaged launch a 3,000‑light‑year‑long cosmic jet from its glowing 'shadow'") [![An illustration shows dark matter powering the heart of a spiral galaxy](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/69kRCSZKQ5H5nddwqCTGR3.png) Dark Universe Could the Milky Way galaxy's supermassive black hole actually be a clump of dark matter?](https://www.space.com/astronomy/dark-universe/could-the-milky-way-galaxys-supermassive-black-hole-actually-be-a-clump-of-dark-matter "Could the Milky Way galaxy's supermassive black hole actually be a clump of dark matter?") [![The central molecular zone and its location in the Milky Way](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7MRALWXNbuwzLoNekxbdnD.png) Galaxies World's largest radio telescope array pierces heart of our Milky Way: 'This is just the beginning'](https://www.space.com/astronomy/galaxies/worlds-largest-radio-telescope-array-pierces-heart-of-our-milky-way-this-is-just-the-beginning "World's largest radio telescope array pierces heart of our Milky Way: 'This is just the beginning'") [![(Main) An illustration of the supermassive black hole M87\* (Inset) the NASA/JAXA mission XRISM](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7m3KGMqKhwNrKVJp48qVvT.png) Black Holes NASA X-ray spacecraft stares into the 'eye of the storm' swirling around supermassive black holes](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/nasa-x-ray-spacecraft-stares-into-the-eye-of-the-storm-swirling-around-supermassive-black-holes "NASA X-ray spacecraft stares into the 'eye of the storm' swirling around supermassive black holes") [![A pink disk of swirling gas and light is bisected by a glowing blue line of light](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tEwkqxoNsYRnzZdBFKi4Bk.jpg) James Webb Space Telescope This is the sharpest view ever seen of a black hole's dusty disk](https://www.space.com/astronomy/james-webb-space-telescope/this-is-the-sharpest-view-ever-seen-of-a-black-holes-dusty-disk "This is the sharpest view ever seen of a black hole's dusty disk") [![Images of the twisted jet of matter OJ287 erupting from a distant black hole as seen by the EHT](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tgMzuuacJWYAtq6kqNFh8J.png) Black Holes Astronomers watch 2 supermassive black holes caught in a twisted dance with never-before-seen jet behavior](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/astronomers-watch-2-supermassive-black-holes-caught-in-a-twisted-dance-with-never-before-seen-jet-behavior "Astronomers watch 2 supermassive black holes caught in a twisted dance with never-before-seen jet behavior") Latest in Black Holes [![A black circle in the center of the illustration surrounded by swirling glowing patterns spiraling outward from it. The left side is colored red while the right side is colored purple.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/JjhmXS8mFkbE5qXSnb8ggA.png) Black Holes Could our universe exist because black holes ate up all the antimatter?](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/could-our-universe-exist-because-black-holes-ate-up-all-the-antimatter "Could our universe exist because black holes ate up all the antimatter?") [![An illustration of the supermassive black hole IRAS 05189-2524 which the XRISM spacecraft watched spring back to life](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EfPEznfetDrGHyxBc9hwwQ.png) Black Holes X-ray spacecraft watches monster black hole wake up and fire cosmic bullets at starburst galaxy](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/x-ray-spacecraft-watches-monster-black-hole-wake-up-and-fire-cosmic-bullets-at-starburst-galaxy "X-ray spacecraft watches monster black hole wake up and fire cosmic bullets at starburst galaxy") [![ Illustration of an eccentric neutron star–black hole binary. The neutron star’s path is shown in blue and the black hole’s motion in orange as the two objects orbit each other.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EmaYyXsYbtCknzr4JwN2JD.png) Black Holes Black hole and neutron star mergers push the laws of physics with their odd orbits](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/black-hole-and-neutron-star-mergers-push-the-laws-of-physics-with-their-odd-orbits "Black hole and neutron star mergers push the laws of physics with their odd orbits") [![An illustration of colliding black holes setting the fabric of space ringing with gravitational waves.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/AU4KyD58keEkWydH4ooKJh.png) Black Holes The universe is humming with ripples in spacetime: Scientists just doubled our catalog of black hole and neutron star collisions](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/the-universe-is-humming-with-ripples-in-spacetime-scientists-just-doubled-our-catalog-of-black-hole-and-neutron-star-collisions "The universe is humming with ripples in spacetime: Scientists just doubled our catalog of black hole and neutron star collisions") [![An image showing blobs of yellow and purple light with insets of illustrations showing what these blobs could represent.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BdHb23dnDCzfjWzeVfdgyC.png) Black Holes Black holes! Supernovas! Merging galaxies! Oh my! Largest radio survey of the cosmos ever reveals 13.7 million powerful cosmic objects and events](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/black-holes-supernovas-merging-galaxies-oh-my-largest-radio-survey-of-the-cosmos-ever-reveals-13-7-million-powerful-cosmic-objects-and-events "Black holes! Supernovas! Merging galaxies! Oh my! Largest radio survey of the cosmos ever reveals 13.7 million powerful cosmic objects and events") [![An illustration of two black circles in the center of the screen separated by a red dot. There\&\#039;s a glowing blue circle around both black circles and a red semi-circle at the bottom.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VAGT8xLGFWzj5UeRpR7pEe.png) Black Holes Starlight warped in the fabric of spacetime could help us find hidden black holes dancing together](https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/starlight-warped-in-the-fabric-of-spacetime-could-help-us-find-hidden-black-holes-dancing-together "Starlight warped in the fabric of spacetime could help us find hidden black holes dancing together") Latest in News [![An orange rocket on the launchpad.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5YtEvgyCwgCFvsTiQLmWtc.jpg) Missions 'We are ready': NASA still on track to launch Artemis 2 astronauts to the moon April 1](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/missions/we-are-ready-nasa-still-on-track-to-launch-artemis-2-astronauts-to-the-moon-april-1 "'We are ready': NASA still on track to launch Artemis 2 astronauts to the moon April 1") [![This Week In Space podcast: Episode 203 — China Rising](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aUnonGnffcBdPebavgYsok.jpg) Space Movies & Shows This Week In Space podcast: Episode 203 — China Rising](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/this-week-in-space-podcast-episode-203-china-rising "This Week In Space podcast: Episode 203 — China Rising") [![A white rocket nose with the circular NASA logo stands next to the metal gantry underneath a glowing large full moon in a black night sky](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kHi8vrw3JywVPfifSGRjgC.jpg) Artemis What time is NASA's Artemis 2 moon launch on April 1?](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/artemis/nasa-artemis-2-moon-launch-what-time "What time is NASA's Artemis 2 moon launch on April 1?") 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Readable Markdown	The [Event Horizon Telescope](https://www.space.com/event-horizon-telescope.html) (EHT), which is a collaboration of radio telescopes all around the world that operate in unison to image [supermassive black holes](https://www.space.com/supermassive-black-hole), has achieved its finest resolution yet. In the future, this accomplishment could lead to images of the ring of light around a [black hole's](https://www.space.com/15421-black-holes-facts-formation-discovery-sdcmp.html) [event horizon](https://www.space.com/black-holes-event-horizon-explained.html) that are 50% sharper, resolving hitherto unseen details and producing movies of how the black holes change as they spin. The EHT works on the principle of "very long baseline interferometry," or VLBI for short. This involves tapping into a network of telescopes across continents that all work collectively to observe the same object, combining their data in the process. The wider the distance between the two farthest telescopes in the network, the greater the resolution, and the more telescopes there are in the network, the greater the sensitivity. The EHT managed to [image](https://www.space.com/milky-way-black-hole-sagittarius-a-pictures) the black hole in the center of our [Milky Way galaxy](https://www.space.com/19915-milky-way-galaxy.html), [Sagittarius A\](https://www.space.com/sagittarius-a), as well as the black hole in the center of the elliptical galaxy M87, M87\ — marking the first two black hole images captured by humanity — because it has a huge baseline. Think of the baseline as being the telescope's aperture. The EHT's most southern telescope is the South Pole Telescope, while its most northern station is the Greenland Telescope, which means the network spans almost top to bottom of the planet. Article continues below Along with the baseline factor, wavelength has a role to play, with lower wavelengths achieving higher resolution. The historic images of the black hole at the center of our galaxy and M87 were captured at a radio wavelength of 1.3mm. At this wavelength, the "photon ring," which is the torus of emission around the event horizon with the black hole's dark shadow inside it, appears blurred — particularly in the case of Sagittarius A\. This is because the radio emission coming from the black hole is being partially scattered by ionized gas in the [interstellar medium](https://www.space.com/interstellar-space-definition-explanation) between us and the object itself. This results in the light becoming smeared across an angular scale, comparable to the resolution of the EHT at 1.3mm. The smearing effect would be drastically less apparent at shorter wavelengths. Related:* [Stunning Photos of Our Milky Way Galaxy (Gallery)](https://www.space.com/14249-milkyway-galaxy-photos.html) To this end, for the first time ever, the EHT has been able to conduct VLBI at a shorter wavelength of 0.87mm. "With the EHT, we saw the first images of black holes by detecting radio waves at the 1.3mm wavelength, but the bright ring we saw, formed by light bending in the black hole's [gravity](https://www.space.com/classical-gravity.html), still looked blurry because we were at the absolute limits of how sharp we could make the images," said Alexander Raymond, of NASA's [Jet Propulsion Laboratory](https://www.space.com/16952-nasa-jet-propulsion-laboratory.html), in a [statement](https://eventhorizontelescope.org/blog/eht-makes-highest-resolution-black-hole-detections-earth). "At 0.87mm, our images will be sharper and more detailed, which in turn will likely reveal new properties, both those that were previously predicted and maybe some that weren't." Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more\! Achieving VLBI at 0.87mm is not an easy thing, hence why it hasn't been accomplished before. One of the difficulties has to do with water vapor in the atmosphere tending to absorb radio waves at this short wavelength, so weather would have to be very dry at all the EHT's observing sites. ![A dark blue cast of earth with several small, orange dots scattered about.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CCM9XC4Qm9w9HpCteaJrDk.jpg) The locations of the observatories that participated in the groundbreaking Event Horizon Telescope very long baseline interferometry experiment at the short wavelength of 0.87mm. (Image credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser) As for those observing sites, this particular VLBI experiment involved both the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array ([ALMA](https://www.space.com/25534-alma.html)) and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment in Chile, the Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter Range (IRAM) 30-meter telescope in Spain, the Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) in France, the Submillimeter Array (SMA) on Mauna Kea in Hawaii and the Greenland Telescope, all of which are stations for the EHT. Probing numerous [quasars](https://www.space.com/17262-quasar-definition.html) at 0.87mm, they achieved a resolution of 19 microarcseconds. How small is 19 microarcseconds? Well, the sky is divided into 360 degrees, with each degree consisting of 60 arcminutes, and each arcminute is further subdivided into 60 arcseconds. A microarcsecond is a millionth of an arcsecond, so 19 microarcseconds is like being able to resolve a bottle-top on the surface of [the moon](https://www.space.com/55-earths-moon-formation-composition-and-orbit.html). It's the greatest resolution for an astronomical image ever achieved solely from the surface of the [Earth](https://www.space.com/54-earth-history-composition-and-atmosphere.html) (although combinations of ground- and space-based telescopes have achieved similar resolutions in the past). Raymond and his colleagues actually think the EHT could resolve down to just 13 arcseconds when operating at full capacity (for example, with the inclusion of the South Pole Telescope, which was not involved in the 0.87mm test). ![An image of Sagittarius A\, the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, which scientists think is spinning as fast as it possibly can.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z8M8CA32rgSdPEpzVWNAjU.jpg) The Event Horizon Telescope’s image of our Milky Way’s supermassive black hole, at a wavelength of 1.3mm. (Image credit: EHT Collaboration) The intention now is to apply this breakthrough while taking new images of Sagittarius A\ and the supermassive black hole in M87. "The time is right, as the new detections prove, to advance to 0.87mm," said Remo Tilanus of the University of Arizona, who is the EHT's Operations Manager. The greater resolution won't just sharpen the image of the photon ring around each black hole, but also more precisely depict their shape and size, allowing more accurate estimates of the black holes' spin rates and angle to us. It will also bring into range supermassive black holes in other galaxies, and allow us to see closer to the base of relativistic jets shooting out from active black holes such as in quasars. This could provide more answers into how a black hole's [magnetic field](https://www.space.com/earths-magnetic-field-explained) produces jets that move at almost the [speed of light](https://www.space.com/15830-light-speed.html) and extend out into deep space for thousands of [light-years](https://www.space.com/light-year.html). ![Side by side images of orange blobs of light around dard black circles.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sYXznnVg2TBFHAUnM6scr7.jpg) A simulation showing the difference in sharpness between observations of a black hole at 1.3mm and at 0.87mm. (Image credit: Christian M. Fromm, Julius-Maximilian University, Würzburg) In addition to now being able to operate at a shorter wavelength, there are plans in place for major modifications to the EHT, in a program called "next generation EHT," or "ngEHT" for short. This will add new telescopes to the existing EHT infrastructure at locations around the world optimized to provide the greatest baselines and sensitivity, as well as improve detector facilities at the existing members of the collaboration so they can observe black holes at multiple wavelengths between 3mm and 0.87mm simultaneously. Related Stories: All in all, the next generation EHT is expected to increase the sharpness and clarity of black hole images by a factor of 10, perhaps even enabling high-resolution movies showing changes in the photon ring around a black hole's event horizon over [time](https://www.space.com/time-how-it-works) as the black hole spins and accretes more matter from the surrounding [space](https://www.space.com/24870-what-is-space.html). "These VLBI signal detections at 0.87mm are groundbreaking since they open a new observing window for the study of supermassive black holes," said Thomas Krichbaum of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany in a [statement](https://www.eso.org/public/unitedkingdom/news/eso2411/) issued by the European Southern Observatory. The results of this groundbreaking VLBI experiment were published on Aug. 27 in [The Astronomical Journal](https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ad5bdb). Share your thoughts 0 0 0 0 Join the community Join the Space.com Family! The best way to keep in touch and to be informed of our latest quizzes and competitions, as well as news and offers. Already have an account? Log in My Details Update your details below... Keep in the Know Would you like to be kept informed about new quizzes and offers from Future and its partners? Validate Your Mobile No. We have sent a code to . Please enter it below to verify your account. Update Your Mobile No. You may enter a new mobile number below. You will be sent a verification code to the phone number you provide. embed-reactions.hint\_heading embed-reactions.hint\_subheading Validate Your Email Address We have sent a code to . Please enter it below to verify your account. Update Your Email Address You may enter a new email address below. You will be sent a verification code to the address you provide. Create a Username This will be publicly viewable so make it something you like\! Reset your password Enter your email address below. If it is registered with us, we will email you a code that will allow you to reset your password. Check your inbox If your email address was found in our system, you should receive an email in the next few minutes containing a code. Enter that code below to reset your password. Set new password Please enter your new password below. Leaderboard \| Rank \| Player \| Score \| Time \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| Keith Cooper is a freelance science journalist and editor in the United Kingdom, and has a degree in physics and astrophysics from the University of Manchester. He's the author of "The Contact Paradox: Challenging Our Assumptions in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence" (Bloomsbury Sigma, 2020) and has written articles on astronomy, space, physics and astrobiology for a multitude of magazines and websites.
Shard	8 (laksa)
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