EHT: Astronomers reveal first image of the black hole at the heart of our galaxy

Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration astronomers have unveiled the first image of the supermassive black hole at the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy. The image was produced using observations from a worldwide network of radio telescopes.

Progress on the EHT continues, the ongoing expansion of the EHT network and significant technological upgrades will allow scientists to share even more impressive images as well as movies of black holes in the near future. Read the EHT article here.

EHT Image of the Black Hole in Sgr A* - MPIfR scientists tell the story

EHT Image of the Black Hole in SgrA* - MPIfR scientists tell the story

Get here inside information, emotional backgrounds, and exciting explanations from scientist of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy on the groundbreaking image of SgrA*

Image: © EHT Collaboration This is the first image of Sagittarius A* (or Sgr A* for short), the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy.  It’s the first direct visual evidence of the presence of this black hole.  It was captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), an array which linked together eight existing radio observatories across the planet to form a single “Earth-sized” virtual telescope.  The telescope is named after the “event horizon”, the boundary of the black hole beyond which no light can escape.  Although we cannot see the event horizon itself, glowing gas orbiting around the black hole reveals a telltale signature: a dark central region (called a “shadow”) surrounded by a bright ring-like structure. The new view captures light bent by the powerful gravity of the black hole, which is four million times more massive than our Sun. The image of the Sgr A* black hole is an average of the different images the EHT Collaboration has extracted from its 2017 observations. 

ALMA Science Archive School on 5-7 October 2022 in Bologna

The European ALMA Regional Centre Network organises, co-funded by the ORP, the ALMA Science Archive School at the Italian ARC node headquarters in Bologna ITaly) on 5-7 October 2022.
This school will present an overview of the most advanced tools to exploit the archive content for science, and a discussion of possible tricks to address mining issues.
The event is targeted to astronomers with an interest in ALMA archival research and a basic understanding of interferometry. For this reason lectures and tutorials will be combined with discussion and support sessions to address participants’ requests, offered by members of the European ARC network.
In order to guarantee an efficient training environment in presence, and to cope with post-pandemic safety limitations, participation is limited to 50 people. In case there are more than 50 registrations, priority will be given to applicants having plans for archival mining projects.

Registration to the school is possible until 15 July 2022 using this registration form.

More information here.

The JIVE Council is seeking the next Director of JIVE

The JIVE diretor position is initially for five years, with possible renewal. Deadline for applicaction is July 31, 2022 - 23:59 UTC. Read more details here.

The 100-m radio telescope of the MPIfR: Call for Proposals open

Access to the 100-m radio telescope of the MPIfR, one of the World’s largest fully steerable instrument is open to all qualified astronomers. Use of the instrument by scientists from outside the MPIfR is strongly encouraged. The institute can provide support and advice on project preparation, observation, and data analysis. Access/funding is offered through the ORP (Opticon RadioNet Pilot) project. See the full call information here.

Deadline: June 1, 2022 (15:00 UT)

European VLBI Network: Call for Proposals open

The call for proposals for the European VLBI Network (EVN) is open. EVN access and travel support is possible through the Opticon RadioNet Pilot project (ORP). All regular proposals should be submitted through the Northstar submission tool.

Deadline: June 1, 2022 (16:00 UTC)

EAVN call open

Call for Proposals for the East Asian VLBI Network for the 2022B semester is open.

Proposals should be submitted via the EAVN website.

Deadline: June 1, 2022

European ALMA Regional Centre

The European ALMA Regional Centre (ARC) provides the interface between the ALMA project and the European science community. The ARC is staffed by scientists with expertise in radio astronomy and interferometry and it supports its users throughout the lifetime of a project, from proposal preparation to data analysis. Users that want to visit an ARC node for a face-to-face visit can apply for funding through the ORP project. 

The Westerbork Apertif Long Term Archive (ALTA) is a brand new facility offering to the world-wide astronomical community free virtual access to data and scientific products produced from all sky surveys of the Northern sky that will be conducted with the new Apertif frontend of the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), as well as tools to query, further exploit and perform data mining of these products adaptable to diverse research goals. The access/funding offered through the ORP project.