startswithabang:The Two Scientific Ways We Can Improve Our Images Of Event Horizons“By properl
startswithabang:The Two Scientific Ways We Can Improve Our Images Of Event Horizons“By properly equipping and calibrating each participating telescope, the resolution sharpens, replacing an individual telescope’s diameter with the array’s maximum separation distance. At the Event Horizon Telescope’s maximum baseline and wavelength capabilities, it will attain resolutions of ~15 μas: a 50% improvement over the first observations. Currently limited to 345 GHz, we could strive for higher radio frequencies like 1-to-1.6 THz, progressing our resolution to just ~3-to-5 μas. But the greatest enhancement would come from extending our radio telescope array into space.”It’s absolutely incredible that we’ve got our first image of a black hole’s event horizon, and a monumental achievement for science. But like all scientists, opening the door to a new “first” only increases our drive to surpass what we’ve accomplished and improve our capabilities beyond anything we’ve achieved before. For an event horizon, that means higher resolutions and sharper images, and we have two scientific ways to get there: probing higher frequencies and extending the length of our baseline to beyond the limits of planet Earth.Both of these are technologically possible, and will likely, over the coming years and decades, be how we push past our scientific limits. Come learn how. -- source link