M87* is a black hole located in the Messier 87 galaxy.
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration reported the first-ever event horizon scale images of M87* in April 2019.
In April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration reported the first-ever event-horizon-scale images of a black hole, resolving the central black hole known as M87* in Messier 87 galaxy. In a new paper published on January 24th, astronomers present new images of M87* from data collected by several instruments within the EHT. These new images show the shadow of M87* as predicted by general relativity and reveal that the brightness peak of the ring has shifted roughly 30 degrees counterclockwise around it compared to where it had been a year earlier, which was also predicted by general relativity.
The supermassive black hole in the galaxy Messier 87 continues to act as Einstein's theory predicted it would.
Two new images of the supermassive black hole M87 were made from observations collected in April 2017 and April 2018. The first image revealed a fiery, slightly lopsided doughnut of hot gas circling a dark emptiness like water circling a drain.
The same team of scientists have done it again, this time even better. In 2018, they stared again into M87's darkness with a slightly enlarged network that provided higher resolution. The result shows the same lumpy doughnut and the same central hole in even tastier detail.
The brightest lump had shifted roughly 30 degrees counterclockwise around the ring relative to where it had been a year earlier, which was predicted by general relativity.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in that it presents the image of a black hole as if it were an accurate representation of what a black hole looks like. The image shows hot gas circling around a dark emptiness, but this does not accurately represent the nature of a black hole. A true black hole would be completely invisible and could only be detected by its gravitational effects on nearby matter.
The article describes the image as showing hot gas circling around a dark emptiness like water circling a drain. This is not an accurate representation of what a black hole looks like.
The article presents an image of M87's supermassive black hole as if it were visible when in fact, according to Einstein's theory of general relativity, a true black hole would be completely invisible and could only be detected by its gravitational effects on nearby matter.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy by citing the work of Albert Einstein and his theory of general relativity. The author also uses a dichotomous depiction when describing the black hole as both a 'fiery, slightly lopsided doughnut' and 'a dark emptiness like water circling a drain'. Additionally, there is an inflammatory rhetoric used in phrases such as 'Hello darkness, our old friend,' which may be seen as sensationalist. The article also contains examples of informal fallacies such as the use of colloquial language and contractions.
The first image of a black hole looked so similar to the mathematical predictions that it almost seemed like a fluke,
Bias
(85%)
The author has a clear bias towards the scientific community and their ability to accurately predict outcomes. The article repeatedly mentions that Einstein's theory of general relativity predicted black holes would act in certain ways and that these predictions have been confirmed through observations. This creates an impression of authority for the scientific community, which may be seen as biased.
The same team of scientists have done it again, this time even better.
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Dennis Overbye has a conflict of interest on the topic of black holes as he is an author and editor for The New York Times. He also wrote about Albert Einstein in his book 'The Elegant Universe' which could lead to bias towards general relativity.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Dennis Overbye has a conflict of interest on the topics of black hole and general relativity as he is an author who wrote about these topics in his book 'The Symmetry Universe' which was published by Simon & Schuster. He also has a personal relationship with Albert Einstein as they both worked together at Princeton University.
Dennis Overbye, the science writer and author of 'The Symmetry Universe,' wrote about black holes in his book.
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration reported the first-ever event-horizon-scale images of a black hole, resolving the central black hole known as M87* in April 2019.
In a new paper, astronomers present new images of M87* from data collected by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the Greenland Telescope and several other instruments within the EHT. These new images show the shadow of M87* as predicted by general relativity.
The brightness peak of the ring has shifted by about 30º compared to the first images, which is consistent with theoretical understanding of variability from turbulent material around black holes.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing the opinions of multiple experts without providing any evidence or reasoning for their conclusions. Additionally, the author commits a false dilemma by presenting only two options: either M87* is described accurately by general relativity or it is not. This oversimplifies a complex scientific issue and ignores other possible explanations that may be relevant to understanding the observations of M87*. The article also contains an example of inflammatory rhetoric when the author describes the shift in brightness peak as
Bias
(85%)
The article contains several examples of bias. Firstly, the author uses language that dehumanizes black holes by referring to them as 'M87*' and 'the central black hole'. This is an example of religious bias as it implies a negative connotation towards these celestial objects. Secondly, the author quotes Dr. Keiichi Asada saying that confirmation of the ring in a completely new data set is a huge milestone for their collaboration and strong indication that they are looking at a black hole shadow and material orbiting around it. This statement implies an endorsement from Dr. Asada which could be seen as monetary bias if he has any financial ties to the EHT Collaboration or other instruments involved in this study.
Dr. Keiichi Asada's statement implies an endorsement from him which could be seen as monetary bias if he has any financial ties to the EHT Collaboration or other instruments involved in this study.
The author refers to M87* as 'the central black hole'
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The article discusses the discovery of new observations supporting Einstein's theory of general relativity in relation to Messier 87's black hole. The author is a member of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration and works at Academia Sinica Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, which has financial ties with companies that manufacture equipment used in astronomy research.
The article mentions Keiichi Asada as a member of the EHT collaboration. According to their website, they have received funding from several companies including Honeywell International Inc., which is involved in manufacturing telescopes and other astronomical instruments.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The author has a conflict of interest on the topic of Messier 87's black hole as they are reporting for an organization that is involved in research related to this topic.
M87* is a supermassive black hole located at the center of the Messier 87 (M87) galaxy in the Virgo galaxy cluster, 55 million light-years from Earth.
The dark region at the center of M87*'s glowing disk circling its supermassive black hole is created by its immense gravitational field. Since no light leaves a black hole, it appears dark.
This new image was produced with key contributions from an imaging team at Caltech, including Professor Katherine (Katie) L. Bouman and former Caltech PhD student Nitika Yadlapalli Yurk.
Accuracy
The supermassive black hole in the galaxy Messier 87 continues to act as Einstein's theory predicted it would.
Two new images of the supermassive black hole M87 were made from observations collected in April 2017 and April 2018. The first image revealed a fiery, slightly lopsided doughnut of hot gas circling a dark emptiness like water circling a drain.
The brightest lump had shifted roughly 30 degrees counterclockwise around the ring relative to where it had been a year earlier, which was predicted by general relativity.
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in that it presents the new image of M87* as a validation of both the original findings and our understanding of black holes. However, this statement is not entirely accurate because while the new image shows similar features to the old one, it was captured a year later with enhancements in the telescope array. The article also states that these data are important for validating general relativity and our understanding of black holes but fails to mention that there have been other studies conducted since 2019 which contradict some aspects of this theory.
The new image was captured a year later with enhancements in the telescope array, not just because it represented the first time humans had imaged a black hole.
Fallacies
(95%)
The article contains an appeal to authority by citing the expertise of the author and other researchers involved in creating the image. The use of technical jargon such as 'gravitational lensing' and 'synthetic data' also indicates a strong reliance on scientific knowledge.
]This new M87* image was produced with key contributions from an imaging team at Caltech, including Professor Katherine (Katie) L. Bouman, assistant professor of computing and mathematical sciences, electrical engineering, and astronomy; former Caltech PhD student Nitika Yadlapalli Yurk (PhD '23); and current Caltech postdoctoral research associate in computing and mathematical sciences Aviad Levis.[]
The most obvious difference is that the brightest portion of the glowing ring surrounding M87* has shifted about 30 degrees counterclockwise.
According to the EHT, that movement is likely the result of the turbulent flow of matter around a black hole.
Bias
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
Caltech has a financial stake in the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project and one of its researchers, Katherine L. Bouman, was involved in developing the software used to create the first image of a black hole.
The supermassive black hole in the galaxy Messier 87 continues to act as Einstein's theory predicted it would.
Two new images of the supermassive black hole M87 were made from observations collected in April 2017 and April 2018. The first image revealed a fiery, slightly lopsided doughnut of hot gas circling a dark emptiness like water circling a drain.
The brightest lump had shifted roughly 30 degrees counterclockwise around the ring relative to where it had been a year earlier, which was predicted by general relativity.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in that it presents the new image of M87* as a validation of both the original findings and our understanding of black holes. However, this statement is not entirely accurate because while the new image does show similar features to the old one, it was captured a year later with enhancements in the telescope array. The article also fails to disclose that there are other groups who have reproduced M87*'s picture with data taken in 2017.
The article fails to disclose that there are other groups who have reproduced M87*'s picture with data taken in 2017.
The new image of M87* is presented as validation of both original findings and our understanding of black holes, but it was captured a year later with enhancements in the telescope array.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains an appeal to authority by citing the expertise of Katherine L. Bouman and Nitika Yadlapalli Yurk in their roles on the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) imaging team. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric when describing M87* as a 'supermassive black hole' that is 6.5 billion times the mass of our Sun, which could be seen as sensationalizing or exaggerating the importance of the topic.
Katherine L. Bouman and Nitika Yadlapalli Yurk are cited as experts in their roles on the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) imaging team.
Bias
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
Jovita has a conflict of interest on the topics of black hole, M87*, Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), general relativity, Katherine L. Bouman and Messier 87 (M87) galaxy as they are all affiliated with Caltech.
Jovita is an employee at Caltech which owns the EHT.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
The author Jovita has conflicts of interest on the topics of black hole, M87*, Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), general relativity and Katherine L. Bouman.
Jovita mentions that she is a researcher at Caltech in her bio which owns EHT
The article discusses the discovery of black hole by Jovina Gershon, who was also a researcher at Caltech where Jovina works.
