Description:

In the past year, the longstanding goal of imaging a black hole has become reality. Two long baseline interferometry experiments operating at submillimeter and near-infrared wavelengths can now achieve microarcsecond scale angular resolution with sufficient sensitivity to detect synchrotron radiation from the Galactic center black hole, Sgr A*, and the supermassive black hole in M87. I will discuss the first results from each experiment, focusing on the opportunity to study accretion and jet physics in the immediate vicinity of an event horizon. I will outline the challenge of pushing towards tests aimed at determining whether black holes in the Universe are those predicted by General Relativity.

Speaker: Jason Dexter, University of Colorado

Host: Sasha Tchekhovskoy

Keywords: Physics, Astronomy, Astrophysics