Can a Black Hole Be Photographed?

This week, astronomers will try to photograph a black hole for the very first time. This is more challenging than it sounds because a black hole is so dense that light can’t escape it. It is also tricky because the black hole to be photographed is so far away. They are targeting one in the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Although it is a huge black hole, it is located 26,000 light-years from Earth! Astronomers are hoping to get a good look at an event horizon, which is the swirl of matter and energy that is visible on the outside of a black hole. We should be able to see this matter right before it is sucked in. Photographing a black hole would have been impossible a few years ago but scientists think they have the technology to do it now.

Do you think they will successfully photograph a black hole?