November 6, 2020 7-9PM

Event Type: Lecture and Stargazing
Title: The First Portrait of a Black Hole and Beyond​
Lecturer: Katie Bouman
Position: Assistant Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Electrical Engineering, and Astronomy
Institution: Caltech
Abstract:
This talk will present the methods and procedures used to produce the first image of a black hole from the Event Horizon Telescope, as well as discuss future developments for black hole imaging. It had been theorized for decades that a black hole would leave a "shadow" on a background of hot gas. Taking a picture of this black hole shadow would help to address a number of important scientific questions, both on the nature of black holes and the validity of general relativity. Unfortunately, due to its small size, traditional imaging approaches require an Earth-sized radio telescope. In this talk, I discuss techniques the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration has developed to photograph a black hole using the Event Horizon Telescope, a network of telescopes scattered across the globe. The talk will also discuss future developments, including how we are developing machine learning methods to help design future telescope arrays.