2nd image of 1st black hole ever pictured confirms Einstein's general relativity (photo)

[Newsbuff]

How is it possible for a black hole to cast a shadow on anything? Light casts shadows, not blackness.

 

[billslugg]

The black hole, or neutron star, is at the center of a vast cloud of dust remaining from the explosion. As the dust clears we will see either the black hole's accretion disc which is very bright but constant, or we will see a neutron star which is also accreting and very bright but the neutron star will be spinning rapidly and emitting a pulsing radio beacon. If we see this beacon we know it was a neutron star. Since this star was far above the mass that always goes to a black hole, we will probably never see a rapidly flashing beacon.