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

The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.

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

Complete

Reviewed

Description: Complete
Source coverage: Complete
Relationship coverage: Complete
Review coverage: Complete
Citation coverage: Complete
Image coverage: Not applicable

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.}
}