04-10-2019, 03:17 PM
"Do you know of any other objects in space for which this worldwide linkup of telescopes could be used?
Other distant bodies that we’ve so far been unable to observe, or view with any clarity?"
I'll ask if they plan to do other targets other than blackholes, but their main targets are M87 and Sgr-A, i.e., the massive black hole at the center of our Galaxy. Their aims are to test Einstein's theories, understand the physics of accretion around black holes and how powerful jets form and are collimated (i.e., what forces them to emerge in certain directions). For the time being I think that's what they'll stick to as that's how they got funded. Other targets in the future could include star-forming regions in the Galaxy (such as M42 in Orion), which tend to be quite bright at the wavelengths the EHT works at, so they might start to look at jets and dust/gas inflow and outflows in such regions - it's another big area in astrophysics that isn't understood that well.
Other distant bodies that we’ve so far been unable to observe, or view with any clarity?"
I'll ask if they plan to do other targets other than blackholes, but their main targets are M87 and Sgr-A, i.e., the massive black hole at the center of our Galaxy. Their aims are to test Einstein's theories, understand the physics of accretion around black holes and how powerful jets form and are collimated (i.e., what forces them to emerge in certain directions). For the time being I think that's what they'll stick to as that's how they got funded. Other targets in the future could include star-forming regions in the Galaxy (such as M42 in Orion), which tend to be quite bright at the wavelengths the EHT works at, so they might start to look at jets and dust/gas inflow and outflows in such regions - it's another big area in astrophysics that isn't understood that well.