Global Courant 2023-04-13 17:00:20
NEW YORK — The first image of a black hole captured four years ago revealed a fuzzy, fiery doughnut-shaped object. Now, researchers have used artificial intelligence to touch up that cosmic beauty.
The updated photo, published Thursday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, retains the original shape but with a thinner bezel and sharper resolution.
The image released in 2019 gave a glimpse into the massive black hole at the center of the M87 galaxy, 53 million light-years from Earth. A light year is 5.8 trillion miles. It was created using data collected by a network of radio telescopes around the world, showing swirling light and gas.
But even with many telescopes collaborating, gaps in the data remained. In the latest study, scientists relied on the same data and used machine learning to fill in the missing pieces.
The resulting photo resembles the original, but with a thinner “doughnut” and a darker center, researchers said.
“To me, it feels like we’re really seeing it for the first time,” said lead author Lia Medeiros, an astrophysicist at the Institute for Advanced Study in New Jersey.
Medeiros said the team plans to use machine learning for other images of celestial bodies, which may include the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.
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