Black holes were predicted by Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, and their existence has been inferred from decades’ worth of indirect observation. Let’s take a moment to marvel at how weird and wondrous the universe turns out to be. The black hole in question, known as M87, lies at the heart of a galaxy far, far away — 55 million light-years distant, to be a bit more precise. How is it even possible to take a picture of a black hole against the inky blackness of space? It turns out that some black holes, including the massive M87, are surrounded by in-falling material that circles rapidly like water going down a drain.

Source: Washington Post April 11, 2019 19:04 UTC