Discovery · 2019 CE

The First Image of a Black Hole

History of Astronomy

Overview

The Event Horizon Telescope, a global network of radio dishes including ALMA, produced the first image of a black hole's shadow — the supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy M87.

Why it matters

Turned black holes from theory into something we can directly see.

Objects & facilities

ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array)

Bearing on theory

Confirmed

General Relativity

Knowledge connections

Part ofContemporary Astronomy
Related toMessier 87
Related toM87*
Discovered atALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array)
ConfirmedGeneral Relativity
Related toThe Event Horizon
Related toBlack Hole
Related toSupermassive Black Hole
Discovered viaThe First Image of a Black Hole (M87*)

Sources & references

Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.

ESOEuropean Southern Observatory
Southern-hemisphere observatory data and imagery (VLT, ALMA partner).
NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.

Quick facts

Year: 2019 CE
Era: Contemporary Astronomy

Quality & authority

75%

Reviewed

Completeness: Complete
Source coverage: Complete
Citation coverage: Complete
Relationship coverage: Complete
Review coverage: Complete
Image coverage: None

Curated from authoritative reference sources. See source quality.

Provenance & sources

review 2026.1

Asteria Scientific Review Process · verification: sourced · accurate

Historical evidenceconfirmed
In 2019 the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration released the first direct image of a black hole's shadow, at the centre of the galaxy M87.
Source: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration
- First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole, The Astrophysical Journal Letters 875, L1 (2019)doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ab0ec7

Reviewed by the internal Asteria Scientific Review Process — not an external institutional review. See the evidence framework and authority dashboard.

Scientific citations

Real, source-backed references — primary papers first, then datasets and institutional sources. Formatted through the citation engine; nothing is fabricated.

Peer-reviewed paperFirst M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole

Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration · The Astrophysical Journal Letters 875, L1 · 2019

Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ab0ec7

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (2019). First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole. The Astrophysical Journal Letters 875, L1. Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ab0ec7

@misc{cite:eht-m87-2019,
  title        = {First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole},
  author       = {Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration},
  organization = {Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration},
  howpublished = {The Astrophysical Journal Letters 875, L1},
  year         = {2019},
  doi          = {10.3847/2041-8213/ab0ec7},
  url          = {https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ab0ec7},
  note         = {First direct image of a black hole's shadow, in the galaxy M87.}
}

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Sources & references

Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.

ESOEuropean Southern Observatory

Southern-hemisphere observatory data and imagery (VLT, ALMA partner).

NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration

Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.

Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.

Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (2019). First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole. The Astrophysical Journal Letters 875, L1. Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ab0ec7 @misc{cite:eht-m87-2019, title = {First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole}, author = {Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration}, organization = {Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration}, howpublished = {The Astrophysical Journal Letters 875, L1}, year = {2019}, doi = {10.3847/2041-8213/ab0ec7}, url = {https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ab0ec7}, note = {First direct image of a black hole's shadow, in the galaxy M87.} }