The new BLACK HOLE image explained by an ASTROPHYSICIST | Your questions answered

The Event Horizon Telescope collaboration just released the first ever image of the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole (the same group that took the first ever image of a black hole in 2019 - the one in the centre of the Messier 87 galaxy). What do we learn from this image? Why is it orange? Why is it different to the M87 image? Why is it blurry? And can we observe the same thing with the James Webb Space Telescope?
Why yes this was filmed and edited in a single day. Thanks for noticing. Yes I am exhausted.
Read more about the newly released image here from @ESOobservatory: www.eso.org/public/news/eso22...
Event Horizon Telescope collaboration (2022; Paper I) - iopscience.iop.org/article/10...
The plan to observe the galactic centre with JWST - www.stsci.edu/jwst/phase2-pub...
TED talk on how computer algorithm to fill in the gaps works from Katie Bouman - • How to take a picture ...
00:00 - Introduction
01:04 - How do we take images like this?
03:37 - How does this compare to the M87* image?
05:51 - Why is the image blurred?
08:30 - Why is it orange?
09:53 - What are the 3 bright blobs?
11:29 - What angle are we seeing this from?
17:07 - Will we observe this with JWST?
19:10 - Outro
19:36 - Bloopers
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👩🏽‍💻 I'm Dr Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at University of Oxford (Christ Church). I love making videos about science with an unnatural level of enthusiasm. I like to focus on how we know things, not just what we know. And especially, the things we still don't know. If you've ever wondered about something in space and couldn't find an answer online - you can ask me! My day job is to do research into how supermassive black holes can affect the galaxies that they live in. In particular, I look at whether the energy output from the disk of material orbiting around a growing supermassive black hole can stop a galaxy from forming stars.
drbecky.uk.com
rebeccasmethurst.co.uk

[@mikkj1]

As an old guy who was around before Sputnik, and who watched the moon landing, the progressive improvement within the techniques and equipment used by astronomers continues to amaze me. I've always been a huge science fiction fan, and, every year, more and more of what I've read in the past is no longer fiction.

[@godsbeautifulflatearth]

Nobody has ever been to the moon.

[@tigerswood7481]

@@godsbeautifulflatearth nice try gas lighting

[@waynedarronwalls6468]

@@godsbeautifulflatearth NURSE!!! NURSE!!! QUICK!!!! THE LOON HAS ESCAPED!!! NEEDS HIS MEDS...!!!!

[@waynedarronwalls6468]

@@godsbeautifulflatearth 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😜😜😜😜😜😜😜😜😜🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪...dude, are you allowed out unescorted???

[@waynedarronwalls6468]

@@godsbeautifulflatearth you're a bit of a mentalist, aren't you????

[@erichodge567]

There is simply no substitute for having a real astrophysicist explain astrophysics. Thanks, Dr. Becky!

[@DrBecky]

Thanks Eric! That means a lot 👍

[@RockinRobbins13]

@@DrBecky Correction: there's no substitute for having a real astrophysicist, who can translate astrophysics into English, explain astrophysics. People inside the science community used to criticize Carl Sagan because he explained highly technical material in English, sometimes through analogies, and all analogies are flawed. But science depends on public enthusiasm for its survival. His and your functions are vital to the very existence of science. Thank you for what you do.

[@jimholmes6423]

@@RockinRobbins13 Dead on! @dr. Becky is one of the best I've seen. In the class of Dr. Segan and Mr. Cousteau, bringing science to the rest of us.

[@theperfectplate8682]

@@DrBecky What’s your email?

[@matttzzz2]

She speaks to a lay audience though. Most of what she says everyone with a high school education already has heard a million times

[@lordInquisitor]

The fact that there is a single object so large that stuff moving near light speed needs weeks to orbit it is just awesome

[@FRXable]

It's such a treat to have a black hole expert explaining what we are seeing in that image, and also to see the enthusiasm when the image was released. What a great time to live in :)

[@RockinRobbins13]

KZbin has redeemed itself with this video alone. We now go back to your regularly scheduled nastiness, name calling and personal attacks! But not here.

[@MajesticGovernor]

Black holes are a hoax. Mathematical speculation.

[@RockinRobbins13]

@@MajesticGovernor This image powerfully says otherwise. There will be more. There will be more discoveries about black holes that will further render your position ridiculous, as it really is now. Black holes are inescapable reality, based on first-hand observation, just as hurricanes, unimaginable to those who have never been in them, are real. Just wait until the JWST and Gaia give us the stars, by name, orbiting the Milky Way's black hole and back up the information of the South American observatories, that they orbit a million Sun mass black hole. Sometimes you just have to surrender to reality. As Fred Hoyle, one of my personal astronomical heroes. What makes sense to you isn't necessarily what's happening.

[@user-sv7wl5sf6w]

Expert ? She has no understanding and serving a half-cooked dish .

[@FRXable]

@@user-sv7wl5sf6w She's an astrophycisist specializing in supermassive black holes, with peer reviewed publications on the subject. Yes, she's an expert.

[@paulpence8895]

There is no replacement for Dr. Becky's genuine enthusiasm... Love this channel, keep bringing it!!!

[@2Treesandahorse]

It's her pure joy of everything to do with it. Refreshing.

[@atharvbhalerao3062]

honestly it is contagious. contagious excitement is always a good thing.

[@abeautifullybookishlife7525]

For anyone interested, Netflix has the documentary Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know, which includes following the Event Horizon Telescope team leading up to the M87 image release. It is incredibly interesting.

[@tyrantworm7392]

A bit more dry, but CFA Colloquium (Centre for Astrophysics - Harvard-Smithsonian) YT channel has a number of lectures given by the EHT team, in addition to a lot of other Astrophysics based subjects and telescope projects.

[@abeautifullybookishlife7525]

@@tyrantworm7392 Thanks for the rec! I will be sure to check those out!

[@Dj1Crook]

yeah I've seen that also it features Stephen Hawking before he passed away he'd be so proud knowing that they was able to capture the milky ways black hole also

[@javierdelca7904]

Thanks

[@Drewsterman777]

I am 100% going to watch this and nerd out on it. I love all things relating to anything beyond our planet's atmosphere. I was heavily into meteorology when I was a kid. I was that kid that sat in the school library reading about everything instead of playing during recess and lunch time lol. I built my first computer when I was 14. I fixed electronic equipment in the Navy and now I work in IT. I love all of this nerd stuff ^_^

[@kathrynck]

To describe what they did... I liken it to this: Imagine a digital camera hanging from a string, dangling to and fro, spinning, etc. Now imagine that the digital camera's sensor is mostly broken, having only a handful of functional pixels. What they did, was spend a very long time watching the few working pixels, while minding the orientation of the camera moving about, to try to accumulate a composite which approximates something like a very crude imitation of a photograph, while filming a moving target.

[@samuela-aegisdottir]

Great analogy. thanks.

[@TheStreamingEnderman]

As a person who has little more than basic knowledge and a whole lot of curiosity on Astronomy, this was quite the treat!

[@johnlivolsi1127]

I began observing the stars in 1949 when I was seven it is truly pure joy to have access to this progress I am grateful

[@Only_God_Is_Allah_SWT]

That's why you're believing that this is a real photo of a black hole lol.

[@keegs1163]

Back when i was young my dad would explain and read universe in a nutshell to me, i spent so much time imaging seeing a blackhole up close. But this is incredible to even come this far at all, im flabbergasted. Love your show Dr Bekky keep up the amazing content

[@MuseumGuy88]

I love how much "space stuff" is happening these days - hearing about all these massive collaborations of scientists from all over the world collaborating to create these technological marvels and explore the fundamental history of our Universe is such a needed break from everything else. Thanks for your great videos that help me to understand and appreciate these inspiring stories even more!

[@Blarg54321]

As it should be!

[@DocHalliday]

It just goes to show you what's possible when people come together

[@ub2bn]

What happens when Plasma Physicists, Electrical Engineers, and Natural Philosophers come together: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGWxl5mKp8R6g80 kzbin.info/www/bejne/epyVXp9-bsqqq6M

[@okidokidraws]

End war study Science and Art

[@dmor3359]

@@okidokidraws was going to say the exact same thing....politicians....sick of people with the power to send armies against one another's children.

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[@zekeharker3916]

Sometimes astrophysicists will mention distances so vast that it will be mental painful to try and think about the distance. I believe this is the most appropriate use of the term "unimaginable".

[@eu29lex16]

Or hard to imagine.

[@justinwatson1510]

It’s literally unimaginable. We can tell ourselves that we are imagining it correctly, but I’d be willing to bet anything that we aren’t.

[@eu29lex16]

@@justinwatson1510 It's hard to imagine. You can already see the distance if you look at the sky and you can see that they are huge.

[@samuela-aegisdottir]

"it's 116 million km. It sounds like a lot, but..."

[@stevewebber707]

Always amazing to me how much information can be extracted from an image that looks to an untrained eye, like a blurry blob.

[@DistendedPerinium]

In astronomy, it's helps A TON knowing what the image is supposed to be of.

[@JacquieLewis]

I enjoy space and learning about it but I’m not smart enough to fully comprehend certain things. You simplify it and create comparisons that are easily understood. Thank you. You [space] rock!

[@DrBecky]

You’re welcome Jack 🤗 glad you like my content and it’s helpful!

[@leogama3422]

Take a look at the latest video about this from Veritasium. Derek did a really good job explaining the image itself, and Becky completed with the science behind it and the implications. ❤

[@Knowbudi1]

I love this comment and completely agree. Becky, Kyle Hill, Sci-show, and others are such a wonderful resource for those that love this kind of content but need a layman's version to really grasp it. I will be forever greatful for the day I discovered Because Science, my current obsession with how Science relates to my everyday word and my love of content like this can be tied directly back to that channel. Stay awesome Dr. Becky you rock!

[@mynameisray]

@@DrBecky - Except we have no clue if this is in fact a black hole. All we have here is a low res blurry image of something, and people are trying to say that beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is a black hole. So could you take a minute and explain to me how you know exactly what this is beyond a shadow of a doubt? I mean the Earth has places we haven't seen and things we can't explain. We know even less about our own solar system. We know just about nothing, in the grand scheme of things, about our Galaxy, yet here we are knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt what this low res blurry image is? I mean come on now that's just ridiculous. People really need to stop speaking in a factual way about things they really can't prove. Astrophysicist are about the worst for doing this. They claim they can tell you exactly what life is like on a planet orbiting a star hundreds to thousands of light years away simply by the dip in luminosity of the star. Now don't get me wrong, I'm no flat Earth space denying bonehead, but you can't honest sit here and tell me that this is 100% beyond a shadow of a doubt a black hole. I mean if you can I really would love to hear it, and am genuinely interested. Though I'm putting my money on you not being able to guarantee me beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is in fact a black hole.

[@stumpy1146]

Right there with you, Jacq.

[@Lilee177]

I love how passionate you are in this video. But also how easily digestible the video and information is for regular people like myself who are not so good with the whole space/physics thing. Thank you!

[@remander3873]

As someone with two doctorates who has taught undergrads and grad students, I am very impressed by your clear and succinct delivery. Love this breakdown!

[@trevcam6892]

It's really exciting to read about all these amazing advances in our knowledge of the universe. I was born in 1941 and space travel was just fiction, as was our knowledge of the universe. I remember drawing what I thought a space ship should look like when I was still in junior school. The advances in all technology and knowledge in my 81 years are almost unbelievable and so exciting. I just want to keep going so I can see what we discover next. Hopefully Webb will amaze me with fantastic images from the beginning of time before my own time stops. And I just love the excitement in your presentation. No wonder you're exhausted.

[@mikeharman9114]

How close does the SpaceX Starship come to your junior high drawing?

[@mkilptrick]

I love the energy Dr. Becky exudes in her videos. We need more teachers like her.

[@isee7668]

He reporting is fantastic, but her delivery makes me want to hang myself. To each his own.

[@arianamahani-peters2974]

ikr

[@sarahspencer9360]

Oh I'm so glad I've found you!! You explain things really well AND your enthusiasm is contagious. You have a new fan. 💚

[@MoggioMTB]

Why are really difficult concepts really clear when you explain them? You are so good at this. Much appreciated as always.

[@TheLonelyMoon]

You, Anton, and so many channels out there, make these educations public and accessibly, thank you!

[@TomLeg]

Which Anton? I've watched Veritasium and Scott Manley's versions.

[@hansisbrucker813]

@@TomLeg Anton Petrov

[@LemonLadyRecords]

I think the best thing about this, by far, is new info about the evolution of the Milky Way. Thanks for touching on all these issues, beyond just the pretty picture, which it is. I'm old enough to remember when we didn't know what quasars were (thus, "quasi-stellar" objects), and their black holes were only theoretical sci-fi things. From viewing Sputnik in my backyard to Sgr A* and M87*, what a lucky lifespan I've had!

[@spvillano]

I made a similar comment yesterday on another channel, although I'm just a touch too young for Sputnik, as I was born a week after Tsar Bomba was detonated. My earliest memory is getting stuck with a diaper pin after jumping, second earliest memory, JFK getting shot. I can't even imagine what wonders my grandchildren will grow up witnessing!

[@OhAncientOne]

Great video once again, looks like you have a huge team putting together the best video demonstrations. Love all the possibilities you dig up and cover!

[@Platypi007]

I love your explanations of these things, you do such a good job communicating these very complex concepts without totally dumbing them down! It's kind of blowing my mind imagining all of that matter moving close to the speed of light in such a tight orbit.

[@douglasthompson1724]

What a monumental achievement. Even when Messier 87 was photographed, many were thinking, "why don't we photograph our own supermassive blackhole, it's much closer". Not understanding that not only is Sagittarius A a much smaller blackhole compared to Messier 87, but that our line of sight to Sagittarius A is on the same plane as the galaxy itself, making it incredibly hard to parse it from the ambience created by light and obstructions from the Milky Way itself. Remarkable, the things humans have achieved.

[@MrBollocks10]

And yet, five minutes later ,here's this one! Your right through ! They did say this was impossible.. Remember?

[@Chimera_Photography]

@@MrBollocks10 everything impossible is impossible, until it isn’t.

[@justinwatson1510]

I hope we don’t lose it all because wealthy assholes care more about profit than the long-term habitability of the planet.

[@Dorihn2009]

I was waiting for this video as much i was waiting for the release of the image

[@subseeker]

Your bad

[@thelanavishnuorchestra]

I watched your video because I knew I'd get my questions answered. You got them all and a bunch of bonus info as well. Thank you!

[@beyonddivinity7076]

It is so much fun to see how passionate you talk about this stuff. I'll definitely check out more of your videos!

[@glennbabic5954]

Finally, someone throws some light on this black hole. An analysis of its orientation and what it might tell us about our galaxy's past. Now it's not just a blur. Thank you.

[@malcolmsargeant7818]

Veritasium has a good video too kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2LFhHekqq6DmNE

[@Hossak]

I feel special and privileged to have lived to a time when they have actually taken images of black holes. Great video as always Dr Becky :)

[@47f0]

Technically, black hole is something that we can never get an image of. Best we can hope for is all the energetic debris in the vicinity.

[@piccalillipit9211]

when I was a child they were entirely theoretical, almost science fiction. Now - we take pictures of them... 30 years ago we found the first exoplanet - very soon we will have direct images of them... It absolutely blows my mind. Meanwhile tanks are still blowing people to bits in parts of Europe. Scientista AMAZING. Politicians - total crap.

[@fivish]

Unfortunately its a hoax.

[@Hossak]

@Real Aiglon please get her to change her channel name then. Cheers

[@alalalala57]

@@fivish you're a hoax

[@jimholmes6423]

So I've been watching your videos for a year or so, I love how hoe you explain Astro-physics to the layperson. You always seem too excited to do so. In this episode, you are clearly very excited about the material, to the point that you are so engaged, that your simile that rides up your cheekbones explodes into your eyes and for the first time I realized how blue they are. It is always great seeing someone enjoy their work, it is even better watching someone teach their work, and to do so in a "You just have to see this" kind of way. Watching you, especially when you are excited like this, is always a joy, especially on a dark, dreary, rainy day (I'm in the states, not London ;)) is a great way to end my night. Thank you, Dr. Segan I am sure smiles down at you, with Fred Rogers by his side saying "yes there are people that carry the torch". Cosmos 3 should be yours.

[@tackogronday]

Your enthusiasm about this amazing science is infectious

[@b3u0c6k]

Dr Becky, just found your channel and having seen so many great science commentators I’ve had my expectations set quite high. Love the way you explain stuff so clearly and understandably, the way you add your own personality and humour to it, truly a breath of fresh air. Earned my sub easily, thanks for the awesome content!

[@Flexible_photon]

The last 20 years have been absolutely amazing in terms of astronomical discovery. I really couldn't be any happier. My last wish is to verify the existence of extraterrestrial life.

[@EnglishMike]

That would be cool. There's always a chance of some tentative hints in the near future from observations of exoplanets, but that's probably about it.

[@brian1204]

Hopefully it won’t be all of our last wishes! 🥸

[@misterphmpg8106]

Hopefully we will discover it directly on Mars because all other sources are much too far away to actually recover and examine a real probe directly in our hands here on earth. And only this would be „real proof“ I think.

[@ernestolongoria1221]

I must have watched 10 or more videos explaining the black hole images and yours is by far the best explanation I found! Thanks Dr. Becky for a perfect and simple enough explanation!

[@switchfoot19802000]

It's always a treat getting to see your videos. And learnin something new every time. :)

[@autarchex]

I hadn't realized that M87 event horizon is so brain-breakingly enormous until I watched this. That monster must mass as much as a small galaxy in its own right!

[@RockinRobbins13]

We know galaxies in our own neighborhood that don't have the mass of Sagittarius A*. The Milky Way has at least 63 smaller satellite galaxies orbiting it. Some, like the Small and Large Magellanic clouds, can be seen with the naked eye. Most are beyond the ability of even large amateur telescopes to see because they are so small and sparse. Look for ESA's Gaia space telescope to find more of these.

[@52156drj]

I'm with you autarchex, Voyager 1 is over 150 AUs from us and yet it remains within the estimated radius of the event horizon of M87. Incredible.

[@guynorth3277]

To think there are all these huge black holes all over the place, tells me space is bigger than I can actually imagine.

[@RockinRobbins13]

@@guynorth3277 Yes, the Virgo Cluster is full of gigantic elliptical galaxies, each of which should probably contain a monster black hole on the level of M87's behemoth.

[@CharlesBosse]

@@guynorth3277 I'm usually pretty comfortable with the idea that some things are just ridiculously out of reach of even my decent sense of scale but that is just... well, to quote from an MTG flavor text "No, bigger than that. It was BIG". I mean, it's bigger than the combined mass of the two that gave us that nice LIGO signal, that released something like 30 solar masses of energy when they collided, which is a number I already can't comprehend.

[@jerrygillette854]

Dr. Becky. Your enthusiasm for your field of study is truly amazing. It reflects in your videos, and I thank you. I have always had an interest in "what's out there", and you never disappoint with new information. Thank you very much.

[@bdickinson6751]

@Real Aiglon Do you actually have anything useful to add to the conversation, other than the same ignorant comment?

[@thomashiggins9320]

@Real Aiglon MDs don't have nearly the level of education as a Ph.D., either. To earn a Ph.D., one has to do original basic research, write up all the data and findings in a thesis that provides a theory that explains it all, and then defend that thesis before a board of Ph.D.s with expertise in that topic. Medical doctors are highly educated. Ph.D.s discover facts that act as the basis of education. (See how easy it is to copy and paste?)

[@JohnB-kc6ii]

As always, great info and energy, but WOW, I love the new location. That driftwood mantle is fantastic! Such a lovely room to film in.

[@tomheringer2047]

You are absolutely brilliant Dr. Becky. This was a first class college level lecture you put on here for us. I feel like I need to start paying tuition for all the information you provide.

[@elbersed]

She does have a PHD, and deserves the honorific, there is no reason to be snarky.

[@hattielankford4775]

@Real Aiglon 🤔 That's the name of her KZbin channel, Aiggy.

[@thomashiggins9320]

@Real Aiglon MDs don't have nearly the level of education as a Ph.D., either. To earn a Ph.D., one has to do original basic research, write up all the data and findings in a thesis that provides a theory that explains it all, and then defend that thesis before a board of Ph.D.s with expertise in that topic. Medical doctors are highly educated. Ph.D.s discover facts that act as the basis of education.

[@kevink2398]

I have always wanted to lean into this information, but Becky does so perfectly. Thanks for helping me understand in a way that makes this topic more interesting than any other person I have ever heard. The 3 blobs of orange gas / high energy seems like a very important "thingy" in the universe.

[@willierants5880]

Excellent, by far one of the best explains yet and I've seen quite a few including from some big channels.

[@alex-simpson]

Amazing to hear someone speak so passionately about such a fascinating topic. Great work!

[@Sad_King_Billy]

The Event Horizon Telescope being an earth-sized telescope blows my mind! How cool!

[@fretless05]

Question: While the Webb telescope can't resolve to the size of the Milky Way's SMBH, will a study of the surrounding stars and gases provide more data to help improve the computer models being used to fill the gaps in the Event Horizon Telescope? I would LOVE to see all of these bits of scientific equipment working together to expand our understanding.

[@itstaxi2825]

This video is amazing, I have learnt so much, thank you Dr Becky, love watching your videos!!

[@matthewbisso8852]

Thank you for posting this great video, Dr. Becky! I found it very interesting and comprehensive.

[@jkrende]

The most awesome part about Dr. Becky is just how energized and excited she is talking about all this stuff... it's infectious.

[@carpediemarts705]

It takes that much excitement to get through the boring parts of astrophysics.

[@kayinoue2497]

Hey Dr Becky! Great video as always. I watched the NSF livestream by the EHT team presenters and I was really fascinated by the discussion of the statistical models developed by the time to try and interpret and interpolate -what is happening- with Sgr A*, building models based on variations in magnetic field, spin, etc, and how they narrowed that down to what we think is happening in the case of this object. I'm really excited for what this is going to tell us about more quiescent supermassive black holes that aren't AGN, how they evolve, behave etc. Combining this knowledge with what we're going to learn from LIGO for smaller, stellar mass black holes should really be interesting. It's really exciting stuff. I STILL can't believe they achieved this. Stunning!

[@kinnaribhalerao8112]

Was feeling low, saw 2-3 of your videos. Your videos always work to take things off mind and thank you Dr. Becky for taking us into a really fascinating world of space science and astronomy especially with the excitement with which you speak :D

[@XXhouchXX]

This was great as I was asking questions to myself you were answering them 8 seconds later, thank you!

[@dancingwiththedogsdj]

Absolutely outstanding (as always)! An extremely informative video involving stuff I absolutely love hearing about. Hosted by an absolutely wonderfully intelligent young lady. The fact that I love watching her talk about the awesome graphic representations and really enjoy it, is definitely not because of the detail or easy to understand diagrams, because she's just FUN to watch!! Talk about anything it would probably still be a great video.

[@DamienGribbon]

Love watching a passionate person speaking about what they love. Infectious!

[@destryjohnson3627]

Okay?

[@lenkel]

Your scientific perspective on this enriches the image amazingly! Thanks Dr. Becky!

[@PhilLeith]

Your energy and enthusiasm and ability to explain things in simple terms is ... well it's captivating. Nice. I think I'll hit that subscribe button.

[@axem.8338]

This is quiet detailed information and I appreciate you for giving us a expert opinion to our amateur eyes.

[@indianagnomes4596]

Dr Becky, thanks for those explanations. For me, why the two images were both roughly circular was pretty perplexing given my limited understanding. It's extraordinary to me that we can actually see those strange visual effects near the black hole. Also I had no idea that the rotation of a supermassive black hole can be completely different from its host spiral galaxy. Seems we have a lot to learn about our own galaxy.

[@Julie9009]

@Real Aiglon Dr Becky has a PhD. She has earned that title

[@CJDAM]

@Real Aiglon imagine thinking only medical phds are doctors

[@thomashiggins9320]

@@CJDAM MDs don't have nearly the level of education as a Ph.D., either. To earn a Ph.D., one has to do original basic research, write up all the data and findings in a thesis that provides a theory that explains it all, and then defend that thesis before a board of Ph.D.s with expertise in that topic. Medical doctors are highly educated. Ph.D.s discover facts that act as the *basis* of education.

[@spikeytop8982]

DR Becky, I do not understand most of what you say, not your fault, just me being dense. I find your voice very comforting & soothing and tend to watch and listen late at night when I’m struggling to drop off, your voice and subject matter does the trick. No insult intended. Thank you , really enjoyable.

[@floydriebe4755]

haloo, Dr Becky! i, too, am an old guy, around before the space age. have always been fascinated by the mysteries of our universe. so much of the info available is couched in language that's hard for an old fart like me to understand. it's refreshing to watch a brilliant, lovely, young lady explain these wonders in a way oldy moldies like me can grasp. THANK YOU, Dr B! been watching sporadically for some time, now it's time to subscribe. should have, fom the get-go!

[@futureterritory9681]

Absolutely jaw dropping how inconceivably huge these supermassive black holes are.

[@derAtze]

I was actually surprised that they were so small. I mean, ours at the center of our universe is so much smaller than our sun, which isn't a particularly large or special star

[@SiqueScarface]

I know why the picture is so orange. This was the color scheme the Research Institute at Garching near Munich in Germany had chosen more than a decade ago to picture the energy of stuff around neutron stars and black holes. And from there, it somehow became an informal standard. Maybe, it's because it conjures up the idea of a warm glowing, open fire we all gather around and have good times. I don't know.

[@AlexGNR]

Saw an interview with the lead scientists two days ago. Yes it is meant to give this idea that is very hot.

[@psyckohero1002]

You’re presentations are always amazing

[@chrisseabolt94]

Brilliantly communicated! You really took something very sophisticated and brought it down to a consumable level!❤

[@theflightsimguy8513]

11:42 Nice technique

[@kryptykomedy]

I feel sorry for these flat earth / space deniers, they can't enjoy this wonder of our galaxy like us, it's magnificent, great video too Dr B! 👍

[@zefferss]

You feel sorry for people that are skeptical of the claims being provided without any factual evidence or proof? How does one actually validate the claim that this image is actually a black hole to begin with? One can easily reproduce such an image in photoshop that it leaves very little confidence in the claim that this is an image of a black hole to begin with.

[@kryptykomedy]

@@zefferss Just don't reproduce! Have you ever thought of the one burning question to all of this nonsense you spout? Why? Why would they make something like this up? Why has science proven beyond ALL reasonable doubt we live on a globe? Of course all science is wrong and you bunch of Dunning Kruger fools are right though I guess?

[@NanocDark99]

@@zefferss Please tell us more about your thoeries!

[@m.showers1242]

Doctor Becky - thoroughly enjoy you consistently high quality presentations for us layperson. Sincere thanks!

[@trongod2000]

Great try at educating all us dummies out here. In every answer you explained with a description I could put in my mind.

[@captainchaos3667]

Throughout this you mention "the" axis of spin of the black hole. Does that just refer to the spin of the accretion disk? I have heard that black holes can spin, if so does the accretion disk have to spin on the same axis, or can the black hole be spinning on a completely different axis?

[@Clarebear3477]

Thank you for explaining so much so well to me, I now have a sort of understanding thanks to you ☺️ One Question though, if the black hole decided to spew out gasses at its poles, would we be able to see them, if the angle is at 30*

[@ashajacob8362]

Yup because of it's gravity light bends from all over direction even from it's backside

[@Johannes]

I really liked the part about the consequences of black hole size for motion blur, in retrospect it is so obvious, but I had not thought about it. Great video! :)

[@brodyalden]

What a great explanation. Thanks for your detailed analysis, Dr. B.

[@helene8854]

There are actually plans to set up a new radio telescope here in Namibia, where I live. It will be called the African Millimetre Telescope. It was an old telescope that was in Chile before and that is currently being sent to Europe for refurbishment and improvement and will hopefully be installed in the next three to four years or so, near or on the H.E.S.S site (a high energy gamma ray telescope). The plan is to also add this radio telescope to the EHT to be able to have a better resolution by essentially having more data points on this telescope that is as big as the Earth (and also add the first telescope in Africa to the EHT). It's a really cool project that my university is actually involved in so I'm really exited to see it done.

[@sv.foamball]

Will we eventually get a polarized image like we did with M87*? Thanks for an excellent summary, as always provided with your trademark enthusiasm!

[@quantumtacos]

For sure they could already release an equivalent image of Sag A* using the same interferometric models they used for M87* if they wanted to, but I think it's reasonable to presume that the increased motion blur of Sag A* versus M87* makes the resulting image substantially underwhelming or else they'd already have released such an image. The fact that they haven't yet is good reason to expect that they're still working to improve their models. One weird thing about radio interferometry is that you can spend 3 weeks collecting data from your telescopes and then a whole year analyzing and figuring out how to actually produce something useful out of that data. Using the Event Horizon Telescope is a bit like looking through a pair of dirty spectacles with about 6 clean spots you can see through and turning your head in all directions and then trying to make sense of the limited glimpses you saw through your 6 clean spots.

[@docb.393]

You are great! I am physicist, but had not really the time to read me through the press. Your vid is really amazing! 1000 Thanks! Keep on going!!!!

[@lyndsann3309]

Was waiting for your video on this!!!

[@vincenttayelrand]

Always a true joy to see someone so enthusiastic about their field of expertise. And yes, it is catching! Thanks.

[@pinkpotatoe7776]

From the Galilean Moons to this amazing discovery, is so beautiful what humanity can do in the name of science and our ability to go beyond our imagination to prove what is true. Like Mr. Sagan once said: "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known" 🌌

[@Morganstein-Railroad]

One thing that I find most attractive about you as a person is how "normal" you are. You are not some "Know it all" scientist talking down to us plebs with indifferent smugness. You tell us what you know and what your ideas are as if we are equal in intelligence and experience to yourself. You are genuinely interested and excited about your subject matter and as a result, that enthusiasm flows out of the screen and engages us, making us feel that we want to know more. What I'm saying is that you do this presenting so well that someone at one of the big science programs on Television should snap you up as apresenter ASAP, as you would make a great asset to science broadcasting.

[@Me-vz1rl]

is wonderful to have someone like you to explain this stuff to us! thanks!

[@ahhhgoolagoon]

Beyond being an unbelievable feat to capture an image of our galaxy's B-hole, I'm curious what scientists will learn/have learned from this image that wasn't known previously about black holes and/or the Milky Way's black hole?

[@misterphmpg8106]

In Science nothing is known until you actually see it and have real data from experiments. Before this picture it was partly only theory even though this theory now proves to be much more likely to be right or „known“. That’s the difference.

[@abiku2923]

I could laugh at this for ages

[@james-michaelrobson287]

Ya, I just image searched "galaxys largest B-hole" and...science is weird. Do not recommend. I get why NASA was defunded.

[@stjernis]

Thanks for the explainer. I got a question: Will EHT be able to produce a moving video sequence from their data?

[@danielclarke5391]

Not for a while I don't think

[@effexon]

how much do they have data? so much it takes weeks to crunch with best supercomputers combined?

[@byrnemeister2008]

@@effexon 6000TB of data. So much they couldn’t send it over the internet. They had to physically send the hard drives to the server farm.

[@leogama3422]

I've heard it's in their plans, but it will require more observations, so not soon

[@xmj6830]

Thank you very much Dr Becky. That was all the questions I had in mind, and you answered them all!

[@adamarcher3350]

You have a new subscriber. Your knowledge is endless and I'm enjoying learning from you. Thank you for sharing what you are passionate about; it is contagious!

[@DrBecky]

Welcome Adam 👋

[@888meenbeeby]

Wonderful explanations! Thx, love this so much

[@mahmoudsaber5250]

I have 2 questions; 1st would there be any bias in the algorithm that was created to capture that image? Means it's biased towards choosing the pattern that we think a black hole would look like, so it ends up coming up with such pattern. 2nd: the plasma orbiting the black hole, which it's 2D, why it's not orbiting 360

[@matttzzz2]

Of course there's bias

[@RockinRobbins13]

@@matttzzz2 There is bias selected to reflect the character of the data we've received. This is basically a statistical map, like that of an electron cloud around an atom. It even looks very similar! There is another phenomenon that is 3D but images in a 2D manner like Sagittarius A* and that is a planetary nebula. This happens when a star, which has been fusing hydrogen lacks enough hydrogen above the fusion shell to sustain hydrogen. However, the helium inside the fusion shell has enough mass to fuse helium. Or perhaps the hydrogen shell is still fusing but the helium core "ignites." That's a Dr Becky clarification waiting to happen. The fusion of helium is so much more energetic than hydrogen that its energy blows the remaining hydrogen shell off the star into space, causing a shell, modified by the magnetic field lines of the star. This, except at the poles, is a sphere of gas around the star, but if we're looking from the direction of its ecliptic, from the side, we see a ring of bright material around the star. We don't see the material on our side of the nebula. That's because we look through a lot more gas when looking at the edges than we do looking straight on. It naturally looks MUCH brighter there, making what appears to be a 2D ring, even though what's really happening is a 3D shell, just like on Sagittarius A*. Google search for M57, the Ring Nebula, for a perfect example.

[@englishmuffinpizzas]

Spinning stuff tends to form disks not spheres. This is why the galaxy and our solar system are flat too. Basically if things start orbiting at different angles they will collide and interact until only their net angular momentum remains and you get a disk shape.

[@RockinRobbins13]

@@englishmuffinpizzas That doesn't seem to be the case. In planetary moons, gas giants tend to have a small collection of inner moons that orbit in the plane of the planet's equator. But outside of that there is a spheroidal arrangement of moons orbiting at random inclinations: hundreds sometimes. These are also mixed between prograde and retrograde orbits. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are all characterized that way with many dozens of moons orbiting at different angles and directions. Galaxies seem to be similar, and Dr Becky could clarify. The younger galaxies seem to be spirals, and they tend to remain spirals even after gobbling smaller galaxies, as the Milky Way did after assimilating Gaia Enceladus 3 billion years or so ago. But the really monster galaxies, like M86 and M87 are all elliptical galaxies with stars orbiting the nucleus in all directions, producing, as a whole, a spherical cloud of moons. Galactic star clusters also tend to be globular when they are in high inclination, randomly oriented orbits outside the main disk of the galaxy. So regardless of scale, small associations seem to sort out in disks. Over a certain threshold, we see a globular arrangement with random inclinations and orbital directions.

[@danieljensen2626]

@@RockinRobbins13 The key link you're missing is that we can only see the accretion disk because it's hot from collisions between objects/particles orbiting the black hole. (It's not actually thermal emission at the observed frequencies, I think the matter is a plasma and we see the free electrons interacting with a magnetic field, but the point is it needs to be hot.) So while there probably is a spherical shell of matter around the black hole further out, the only stuff we can see is the stuff which is close enough to be dominated by the exact kinds of collisions and interactions that tend to form disks out of spinning clumps of matter. Any matter in a spherical shell would necessarily be cold and therefore not emit much light.

[@captainmaay]

In the footage of stars orbiting the black hole, there are sometimes bursts of light coming from the accretion disk, probably some matter seeing its final hours. Was the picture of the black hole by the EHT taken during a period of high intensity of the accretion disk ? Or low ? Would it affect our ability to resolve details ?

[@sgddfgfghfgh]

It was likely taken during a period of ocular eclipse with a shortwave gamma Ray

[@chrisrobinson7728]

Yet another clear, informative and fascinating video. I also love the bloopers at the end (that’s what happens when your brain is too fast for your mouth to keep up with)

[@sanskrutipisat6076]

Very informative and interesting videos . One of my favourite channels 👌🏻 A kind request ; can you please make a video regarding spacetime and the physics related to it ?

[@michaelhanson1400]

Question for you: Has the "blob" in the 5 o'clock position been ruled out as a emission jet (I think that is the correct term)? I guess to me the image has this appearance to it, as that particular "blob" looks like it has some sort of gas emission coming out of it on the close side and the rear side ( if thought of in three dimensions). Not sure if that is it or I am just not seeing the image correctly.

[@kurtsaidwhat]

I haven't watched the video yet, but in the simulations, the bright spots are just random parts of the gas cloud that light up when they spin around the black hole

[@Sherlock245]

Emission come from center not the horizon

[@andrewkim7808]

Hi, thank you so much for the work. Here is one question I am curious to learn. If _nothing_ can escape a blackhole including light, why do we see jets coming off from black holes? Do such jets originate from the vicinity of blackholes and are not materially connected?

[@gazmodo1192]

Good question, Andrew. The material we see jetting away from black holes never crosses the Event Horizon; they are particles that are interacting with the magnetic field of the Black Hole and being supercharged and ejected away at a significant fraction the speed of light. They originate from within the accretion disk of the Black Hole, but not the direct singularity itself

[@andrewkim7808]

@@gazmodo1192 It is a very easy-to-understand explanation! Thanks!

[@deevnn]

Excellent...excellent...video. Terrific explanations that cover all the bases.

[@gofres]

Amazing video, many thanks! I'll be showing this to my physics class next lesson!

[@sum_rye_hash_321]

Also a question, does SgrA* have axial precession? could the fermi bubbles shape be due to the jets moving in a cone shape as the axis of rotation changes relative to the galaxy?

[@berlindude75]

It seems to be a likely explanation. As the Sgr A* black hole spins like a spinning top toy with axial precession, its jets during more active feeding phases would wobble and blow out matter into shapes like the Fermi bubbles.

[@jonathanblubaugh5049]

Great question!

[@richardbryan6349]

@ Dr. Becky it was very interesting to hear what we think about the orientation of the super massive black hole. I'm glad you brought up the Fermi Bubbles. So it begs the question, if Sag A* became active again and started to spray relativistic jets, this galaxy could be ripped apart as the jets spray around like a water sprinkler. 🤔

[@misterphmpg8106]

Maybe that is already the case but we just don’t know yet. It takes 26000 years for this information to get to us…

[@richardbryan6349]

@@misterphmpg8106 Let's hope Sgr A* stays on a diet for a very long time or at least never points in our direction to sterilize all life as we know it.

[@mustangmikep51]

I am jealous of the enthusiasm you radiate when talking about these latest discoveries in your field of Astrophysics...its a pleasure to see someone who enjtoys their job as much as you do....its not work,i f you LOVE what your doing...keep up your enthusiasm and thanks for sharing it with us(the ignorant public! ) lol

[@theraven6836]

Nicely done, Dr. Becky. Thank you.

[@AdamDuffArt]

Humanity is incredible isn't it - being able to pull this off - unimaginable. My god have to ignited my brain today with this explanation - my mind is humming right now lol.

[@Vampiresquid007]

lul im glad i went into engineering to understand this easily xD

[@shubhmishra66]

Well this is incredible, but by a human's standards!

[@tuberroot1112]

It's not human, it's AI. That means we can never know how this image was produced. We must just believe it represents something and then pretend we know enough to explain why the bumps are where they are. It's a faith based system. We should have stuck with saying "God" , it made as much sense.

[@CharlesBosse]

@@tuberroot1112 except that's not how AI works. We may not have precise control over the algorithm, but we know the system being used to generate a model and we know that the model is predictable, at least up to some fairly measurable limit, which is really what science is all about anyway. The fact that we can't name every turtle doesn't keep us from drawing the conclusion that it's turtles all the way down.

[@CharlesBosse]

Your reaction to this was exactly the opposite of mine. I watched this and was like "wait, a black hole that takes a week to circumnavigate AT ALMOST THE SPEED OF LIGHT?!? Yeah. That made me feel very small and insignificant. That's so big that, even if you count all the rotating and moving through the galaxy that we are all doing it would take more than a lifetime for the fastest human made object (well, the fastest one bigger than a few molecules at least) to get around that distance. I know, I know, it's not exactly a trip to Proxima Centauri but that's still ridiculously huge, especially when realizing that it's by definition the most mass you could pack in that space. It's got more mass than some galaxies!

[@nastropc]

Are there any plausible electromagnetic/gravitational interactions between the two that would tend to align the spin axis of a supermassive black hole with its galaxy over time?

[@hevysmokerX]

Resonance is a common astrophysical phenomenon that may cause exactly that.

[@Blarg54321]

@@hevysmokerX Yep, mutual

[@leogama3422]

Black holes are electrically neutral and don't have magnetic fields as far as I know. And you can't apply torque with gravity alone. Maybe the accretion disk can change orientation, but not the black hole itself. It preserves the angular momentum (including direction) of whatever was that formed it.

[@johntaylor2683]

The chage of the Black Hole will be essentially zero, perhaps, the accretion disk will heat to become a plasma (mostly electrons and protons) because of mass differential it may be that that protons are more likely to cross the swartzchild radius, in which case it could have an inate magnetic field. In any event the plasma itself may have a manetic field. It's possible that the event horizon may not be exactly spherical, if spin is sufficient, it may be more of an oblate sphereoid. My knowlege of General Relativity is not great, so I may be wrong.

[@Dragrath1]

@@leogama3422 While it is expected the black hole should through charge imbalances quickly equalize out The spin axis of a black hole does however interact with its environment via frame dragging and the ergosphere which does mean there is a real opportunity for angular momentum exchange via electromagnetic interactions at least while material is infalling onto the black hole. This would likely mainly result in the interchange of angular momentum with infalling material from the galaxy and the supermassive black hole which given enough time might be expected to average out their spin values but I suspect that this process may take too long for it to be observationally relevant given the current age of the universe. As for an interesting if somewhat more speculative idea I have heard about it is possible that the decoupling of the electroweak force may have caused magnetic monopoles to collapse into seed black holes (i.e. fall behind an event horizon) in the dense hot Early universe which could in principal be an avenue to lead to supermassive black holes forming early on and seeding galaxies etc. If this was the case it could result in supermassive black holes that didn't collide enough to cancel out magnetic antipoles exactly inheriting that unbalanced magnetic monopole especially if this interaction was also subject to matter antimatter asymmetry in which case you might have a net *magnetic* charge for such supermassive black holes. This is a pretty big stretch but the possibility can't be ruled out and accumulated magnetic charges from monopoles might result in weird effects.

[@chinlengfong]

Love the Explanations. So easy to understand.

[@perrychalmers2445]

Amazing discovery, and excellent break down of what the image is. Thank you!!