The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) — a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes forged through international collaboration — was designed to capture images of a black hole. Today, in coordinated press conferences around the globe, EHT researchers revealed that they have succeeded, unveiling the first direct visual evidence of a supermassive black hole and its shadow.
Astronomers Capture First Image of a Black HoleU of I researchers contribute to paradigm-shifting observations of the gargantuan black hole at the heart of distant galaxy Messier 87
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The Event Horizon Telescope Project announced that it has captured the first image of a black hole. The feature is located at the center of Messier 87 – a giant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo.
Illinois Prof Looney was among the science team that released a beautiful image of the dust inferred magnetic field in two galaxies. The Cigar Galaxy (M82), shown here, has its large-scale magnetic field following the bipolar outflows (red) generated by the intense nuclear starburst.
More Department News
- Prof. Tony Wong spent some time recently at the Next Generation School teaching the STEAM students about telescopes. Read all about it here.
- Four professors, one instructor, and one TA are on the Fall 2018 Excellent Teacher list. Professors Bryan Dunne and Brian Fields were listed as Outstanding. Others on the list include: Professors Charles Gammie, Joaquin Vieira, and Tony Wong, Instructor Amanda Winans, and TA Melanie Archipley.
- Globular star clusters are favorite targets for amateur sky watchers. To the naked eye they appear as fuzzy-looking stars. Through a small telescope they resolve into glittering snowball-shaped islands of innumerable stars crowded together.
- Yixian Cao earned her PhD on November 15, 2018. The title of her defense was "Spatially Resolved Study of Molecular Isotopologue 13CO In Nearby Galaxies". Congratulations, Yixian!
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Astronomy Picture of the Day
ASTR 100Learn the basic concepts of modern astronomy, from the Solar System to the Big Bang.
ASTR 210Survey of modern astronomy for students with background in physics.
ASTR 350Studies the origin, evolution, and eventual fate of the universe, and the scientific tools used to study these issues.
