The black holes of space consist of extreme concentrations of matter with a gravitation so strong that even light cannot escape them. In April 2019, scientists managed to photograph a black hole in radio galaxy M87 with the Event Horizon telescope for the first time. Last week, the first pictures of the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way were published.
The observations and computer simulations strongly support the notion that the event horizon – a unidirectional boundary that allows matter, light and information to enter but they can never leave – of a super-massive black hole has been photographed.
Black holes are vital for the development of galaxies, and understanding event horizons has been an important part of discovering the quantum gravitation theory.
The latest information about the black hole in our galaxy
Heino Falcke is a professor of astroparticle physics at Radboud University in the Netherlands, who has been awarded the Spinoza Prize, the highest scientific award in the Netherlands. He is a member of the scientist team of the Event Horizon telescope. Falcke's book Light in the darkness has been translated into 13 languages, including in Finnish in 2021.
Professor Heino Falcke will give a lecture on black holes and event horizons at 5 PM-7 PM on 30th May at the Linus Torvalds Auditorium (B123) of Exactum (Pietari Kalmin katu 5) of the University of Helsinki Kumpula Campus. The event is also available with remote access.
Falcke will present the latest findings of the Event Horizon telescope on the black holes of the Milky Way, their scientific significance and the project's technical achievements.
After Falcke's presentation, Kaj Wiik will speak about the part Finnish universities have played in the observations and the analysis of them, and University Lecturer Esko Keski-Vakkuri will speak about the theory on black holes. They will also take questions from the audience.
Wiik is an astrophysicist from the Tuorla observatory at the University of Turku and a member of the team of the Einstein Event Horizon telescope. Esko Keski-Vakkuri is a theoretical physicist at the University of Helsinki who has studied the quantum physics of black holes.
The event will be hosted by cosmologist Syksy Räsänen from the University of Helsinki.
See the recording of the event in Youtube: