New analysis confirms initial picture of black hole
An independent analysis of data from the Event Horizon Telescope again finds the characteristic shadow of M87*.
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An independent research group has reanalysed the data behind the famous image of the black hole M87*. The findings, published in Nature, support the conclusion that the ring-shaped structure is not an artefact of the reconstruction method.
The image of M87* was produced in 2019 using the Event Horizon Telescope, a global network of radio telescopes. Because the individual telescopes work together as a single virtual telescope, they produce an effective aperture comparable to the size of the Earth.
The new analysis uses independent methods to process the 2017 measurements. The researchers again found a bright ring around a darker region: the shadow created as light is bent near the event horizon and partly swallowed.
The study does not confirm that astronomers directly photographed the black hole itself. The observable image comes from radiation emitted by hot gas around the black hole. The dark interior is a consequence of the geometry of light and the extreme gravity in that region.
The researchers also compared the results with a new observation period. During this period, the orientation of the ring shifted. According to the study, this is consistent with changing, turbulent movements of the gas around M87* and is not an indication that the original image was wrong.
The publication is peer-reviewed and appears in Nature. The study does not present a new direct photograph of another black hole. It mainly shows that the original observation and the reconstruction method withstand independent verification.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The scientific claims were checked directly against the Nature publication and the accompanying source. The article makes the status of the research and the limitation of the image explicit.
- confirmed An independent analysis confirms the shadow of M87*. — This is the main conclusion of the Nature publication. source
- confirmed The Event Horizon Telescope works with an effective aperture the size of the Earth. — Described in the Nature Portfolio explanation. source
- confirmed The image is not an ordinary photograph of the black hole itself. — The sources describe a reconstructed ring and shadow from radio observations. source
- confirmed The change in ring orientation is consistent with turbulent accretion. — Mentioned in the discussion of the Nature study. source
Editor's note
The core finding is peer-reviewed and independently reconstructed. The term ‘making visible’ should not be read as an ordinary photograph of the event horizon; it concerns radio emissions around M87*.Sources
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