M87*, imaged

The first picture of a black hole: the shadow of the 6.5-billion-Sun black hole at the centre of M87 against the hot gas around it.

The picture hangs at that distance facing Earth, as large as it is on the sky; how deep the object is cannot be seen, so it is flat.

Taken by

Event Horizon Telescope

Picture spans

686 billion km

From the Sun

53.5 million light-years

RA / Dec

187.71° / 12.39°

Credit

EHT Collaboration