Wednesday, researchers with The Event Horizon Telescope project released the first-ever photograph of a black hole, more than a century after Albert Einstein theorized their existence.
The photograph is a huge step forward, marking the culmination of a century's work of scientific theory.
So naturally, people had lots of questions once the news began to trend online.
Meet Leah Crane.
She's a space and physics reporter with New Scientist who decided to answer questions in conjunction with the photograph's release.
It all started when the New Scientist Twitter account offered to answer as many questions as possible once the results of the research team's findings were published.
The questions came in rather speedily.
In case you've ever wondered about getting sucked into a black hole...
In case you're wondering what dying by black hole would be like...
Soon the now famous photograph made its debut...
...and with it came even more questions, like:
"How did we even manage this?"
In case you're wondering about that brightness...
Oh, and about that rotation...
Where IS that event horizon we keep hearing about?
In case you're wondering about this discovery's scientific impact...
And what about the singularity?
On the subject of energy...
And what about Hawking radiation?
And what about spiral galaxies?
What came first?
Where does all this stuff actually go?
And do black holes actually grow?
How hot is this thing?
But what about Sagittarius A*?
We'd love to know the difference.
Crane eventually had to stop answering questions—she, like most of us, had to get back to work—but we greatly appreciate the time she spent demystifying one of science's most fascinating achievements.
