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Observatories and Instruments

Event Horizon Telescope

Also Known As EHT
Ground-Based Radio and Millimeter Observatories

A global array of radio observatories linked as a single Earth-sized virtual telescope that released the first image of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* on 12 May 2022, reconstructed from April 2017 observations, three years after producing the first-ever image of a black hole, M87*.

Facts
Observatory Type
Very long baseline interferometry network 2
Location
Global network of radio observatories 2
Operational
from 2017 2
Year of the coordinated observing campaign that produced the first black hole image, published in 2019.
Measures
Measures radio waves in the submillimeter range, most recently at a wavelength of 870 micrometers. 1
Operating Principle
Links multiple independent radio telescopes worldwide via very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI), synchronizing them to act as a single Earth-sized virtual telescope. 1
Classification
Observing Band
Radio 1
Connections

Associated With

Sagittarius A*, Celestial Objects
Source ESO - First Image of the Black Hole at the Heart of Our Galaxy (2022)European Southern Observatory
Sources
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationEvent Horizon Telescope, Telescope array section (VLBI)
Quote, Event Horizon Telescope, Telescope array section (VLBI)
Through the technique of very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI), many independent radio antennas separated by hundreds or thousands of kilometres can act as a phased array
View the Source
2. Encyclopedia Britannica: Space Exploration
Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.View the Source
ESO - First Image of the Black Hole at the Heart of Our Galaxy (2022)
European Southern Observatory, European Southern ObservatoryMass and distance summary
Quote, Mass and distance summary
Sagittarius A* is four million times more massive than our Sun and located approximately 27,000 light-years from Earth.
Event Horizon Telescope (Wikipedia)
  • Event Horizon Telescope, Telescope array section (wavelength)
    Since 2018 the EHT has been capable of imaging at a wavelength of 870 μm (345 GHz), giving an angular resolution of 19 μas
  • Event Horizon Telescope, Wikipedia - lead section, observing band (radio)
    The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a telescope array consisting of a global network of radio telescopes.
  • In Group: Radio and Millimetre Interferometer Arrays, Lead sentence
    The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a telescope array consisting of a global network of radio telescopes.
View the Source

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