NASA’s New Black Hole Simulation Mimics How Gravity Warps Light

Earlier this year, astronomers revealed the first real-life picture of a black hole. A few months ago, NASA also shared computer simulations that further detail how “a black hole warps spacetime like a funhouse mirror – and how that affects the appearance of its glowing accretion disk of infalling material.”

As reported by ScienceNews.org, the black hole located in the M87 galaxy’s first photo was an incredible albeit blurry and still image. These new computer simulations show so much more detail, including how the black hole’s “superstrong gravity bends light emanating from gas in the disk behind the black hole so that the disk’s far side seems to split into arcs above and below the abyss.”

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