The First Image Of A Black Hole To Debut Next Week

Of all the phenomena that occur in the universe, one of the most perplexing for scientists is the black hole. These monsters consume everything near them with gravity so intense that even light can't escape. While scientist knows a bit about black holes, and have known one exists at the center of our galaxy since the '70s, there are no pictures of black holes to study.

Another oddity about black holes is that space-time around them is "weird" as one scientist describes. Next Wednesday, a press conference is set to be held, and at the conference, scientists will unveil the first ever photograph of a black hole.

The ESA notes that the image is of Sagittarius A, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy – the Milky Way. Speculation suggests that the image will actually be of the "event horizon" which is the edge of the black hole where light can't escape.

With the black hole surrounded by clouds of gas and dust obscuring the view. Some expect that the image will show a dark blob that is surrounded by a ring of bright light. The image marks the first time humans have ever seen a black hole.

Press briefings on the image will be held simultaneously in the US, Brussels, Santiago, Shanghai, Taipei, and Tokyo. To be clear, the image here isn't the image that we will see next week.