First-ever photographic evidence of a black hole unveiled

More from this show

This week, the first-ever photograph of a black hole was unveiled. The visual evidence was published Wednesday and showed a ring of light surrounding a dark circle.

Philip Mauskopf, a professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, joins us on “Arizona Horizon” to explain what exactly what we’re looking at.

“The circle, the black part, has a diameter that is the nearly the same size as our entire solar system,” Mauskopf said.

The hole is said to be 6.5 billion times larger than the sun, Mauskopf said. It is located at the center of the Messier 87 galaxy.

Philip Mauskopf, a professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University

SPOTLIGHT

The Cost of the Reservation: Indigenous Perspectives

View the latest ‘Candidates in Conversation’

National Memorial Day Concert 2026

Join us for PBS Books Readers Club!

Subscribe to Arizona PBS Newsletters