The image of the black hole is “fixed” by artificial intelligence

The image of the black hole has been “fixed” by artificial intelligence (AI). This happened through software trained on black hole models, which aims to get a broader idea of ​​what the real star is. The study has been published in magazine Astrophysical Journal LettersOn Thursday the 13th.

The image the researchers used was that of the Sagittarius A* supermassive black hole, located at the “heart” of the galaxy Messier M87. The image was produced by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), which was revealed to the public in 2019. To create the image, EHT used data collected over several days in 2017.

According to the scientists, the engine used to fix the image is called Primo – a new algorithm based on dictionary learning that uses high-resolution simulations of accumulation. [acumulação de matéria na superfície de um astro] black holes “.

The black hole whose image has been modified by artificial intelligence

The EHT isn’t just one instrument, but a group of telescopes across the planet that collect data using a technique called very long fundamental interferometry. The new image captures radiation from superheated material orbiting the black hole as it falls.

According to the study’s lead author, Leah Medeiros, an astrophysicist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the diameter of a black hole is about three times that of its “event horizon” – the point of no return for infalling matter. “The event horizon in and of itself is not an observable feature,” he explained. “What we see is what we call the shadow of a black hole.”

Reimaging the ring of light could help scientists better understand its features.