The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration

Making history with an Earth-shattering image

In April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration – a global network of 347 researchers at 60 institutions in 20 countries around the world – unveiled the first-ever image of a supermassive black hole, making headlines worldwide. This breakthrough discovery earned the 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, one of the field’s most prestigious prizes. Among these 347 researchers were 11 Canadian scientists from McGill University, the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Toronto, the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and the Canadian Nuclear Association.

By strategically positioning and synchronizing eight sensitive radio telescopes in Antarctica, Chile, Mexico, Hawaii, Arizona and Spain, the international team of researchers created a virtual telescope as large as the Earth, with unprecedented power. This allowed researchers to target and capture a photo of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Messier 87 galaxy in the Virgo constellation, which matched expectations of Einstein’s theory of gravity: a bright ring marking the point where light orbits the black hole, surrounding a dark region where light cannot escape the black hole’s gravitational pull.

This historic discovery also underlines the importance of international research collaboration in uncovering the greatest mysteries in our universe.

Learn more about the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

*The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics was founded in 2012 by Yuri Milner to recognize researchers around the world who have made profound contributions to human knowledge. It is open to all physicists — theoretical, mathematical, experimental — working on the deepest mysteries of the universe. Laureates receive $3 million each in prize money in recognition of their achievements, making this one of the most prestigious and generous prizes in the world.