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RESTRICTIONS: Broadcast: NO USE JAPAN, NO USE TAIWAN Digital: NO USE JAPAN, NO USE TAIWAN Scientists using a global network of telescopes released the first ever image of a black hole, an achievement that validates Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

The details were announced in a series of six scientific papers published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

According to Reuters, the photo of the black hole at the center of Messier 87, or M87, a galaxy residing in the center of the Virgo galaxy cluster, shows a glowing ring of red, yellow and white surrounding a dark center.

The image was captured by the Event Horizon Telescope, or EHT, a network of eight linked radio telescopes in six locations that acts as a planet-sized observational dish.

The observations confirms the theory of general relativity proposed in 1915 by Einstein to explain the laws of gravity and their relation to other natural forces.

Based on his equations, scientists predicted what a black hole would look like due to the immense gravitational pull, and what the light around it should look like.

According to University of Arizona astronomer Dimitrios Psaltis in a press release, “the Event Horizon Telescope allows us for the very first time to test the predictions of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity around supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies.” “The predicted size and shape of the shadow theory match our observations remarkably well, increasing our confidence in this century-old theory,” he added.

According to Reuters, the M87 black hole resides about 54 million light-years from Earth and has a mass of 6.5 billion times that of the sun.

RUNDOWN SHOWS: 1.

EHT telescope 2.

Black hole 3.

Depiction of black hole 4.

EHT imaging black hole VOICEOVER (in English): “Scientists using a global network of telescopes released the first ever image of a black hole, an achievement that validates Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity.” “The image was captured by the Event Horizon Telescope, or EHT, a network of eight linked radio telescopes in six locations that acts as a planet-sized observational dish.” “The fact that black holes do not let light escape makes viewing them extremely difficult.” “Scientists looked for a ring of light - super-heated disrupted matter and radiation circling at tremendous speed at the edge of the event horizon - around a region of darkness representing the actual black hole.

This is known as the black hole’s shadow or silhouette.” “The observations confirms the theory of general relativity proposed in 1915 by Einstein to explain the laws of gravity and their relation to other natural forces.” “Based on his equations, scientists predicted what a black hole would look like due to the immense gravitational pull, and what the light around it should look like.” “According to Reuters, the M87 black hole resides about 54 million light-years from Earth and has a mass of 6.5 billion times that of the sun.

According to the BBC, it measures 40 billion kilometers across.

SOURCES: Reuters, BBC, University of Arizona https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-exploration-blackhole/seeing-the-unseeable-scientists-reveal-first-photo-of-black-hole-idUSKCN1RM1OP https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47873592 https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/chasing-einsteins-shadow *** For story suggestions please contact tips@nextanimation.com.tw For technical and editorial support, please contact: Asia: +61 2 93 73 1841 Europe: +44 20 7542 7599 Americas and Latam: +1 800 738 8377