After remaining elusive to the scientific community for many years, astronomers have finally captured an image of a black hole.
The New York Times reports that, after two years of computer analysis, the National Science Foundation has photographed the cosmic entity.
Around the 39:00 mark in the video above, Shep Doelman, an astronomer at Harvard University, explains how such a feat was achieved. The Event Horizon Telescope collaboration functions as a chain of eight telescopes operated on four different continents. Each telescope had to be pointed at the black hole, which is located about 55 million light-years away from planet Earth, in a galaxy named Messier 87. Because of the size and distance, a single telescope was not enough to get the job done.
Scientists have come up with theories concerning the existence of black holes for many years. The astronomic anomalies are said to form when a large amount of matter gets packed into one area. This creates a gravitational force so powerful, no matter can escape it.
Popular black hole theorists include Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. Hawking, who passed away last year, shocked the scientific world when he changed his theory about black holes, stating that it is possible for matter to actually escape.
Twitter had a blast with the revelation, causing Lord of the Rings villain Sauron to trend:
