First Ever Close-Up Images Of Black Hole ‘Set To Be Revealed’

Astronomers are expected to reveal the first close-up images of a monster black hole during a global event later.

Eight radio telescopes around the world have been pointed at two of the cosmic behemoths, one at the heart of our galaxy, the Milky Way, and another nearly 54 million light years away.

Now, after two years of acquiring and processing the data, the international team of scientists at the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) programme is set to present their “ground-breaking” first results.

Media have been told to gather for press conferences in Brussels, Washington, Santiago, Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo, and Lyngby in Denmark that are due to begin at around 2pm BST.

Black holes are regions where matter has been crushed by gravity to an infinitely small space where the normal laws of physics no longer apply.