ESO obtained the most detailed image of a galaxy

Telescopes in Chile, Hawaii and Arizona showed the image of a black hole with a definition two million times greater than the human eye.

The image observed by astronomers with the highest definition ever achieved, was made possible by the connection of three different telescopes located in Chile, Hawaii and Arizona.

Connecting the telescope "APEX" (Atacama Pathfinder Experiment) located in our country, "Array Submiliter" located in Hawaii, and the "Submiliter Telescope" located in Arizona, USA, astronomers were able to obtain precise image of the quasar 3C 279, which contains a supermassive black hole with a mass of about a billion times the Sun

The connection of telescopes was performed through the technique known as "broad-based interferometry" (VLBI, for its acronym in English), which allows multiple telescopes to merge and act as one, delivering images at extremely high resolutions and with great precision to observe the space and its phenomena.

The observations of space with this level of resolution represents a new achievement in order to understand how black holes. The ESO plans in the future connecting even more telescopes to create the so-called "Event Horizon Telescope" (Event Horizon Telescope), with which one could see the shadow of a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, as well as the shade of black holes in nearby galaxies.

The shadow, a dark region that contrasts with the lighter background, occurs because the light is bent upon entering the black hole. Getting them in detail would be the first evidence that would prove the existence of an event horizon, a boundary where even light can escape.