The Photon Ring (IMAGE)
Caption
The emission from M87 has now been resolved into a bright, thin ring (orange colormap), arising from the infinite sequence of additional images of the emission region, and the more diffuse primary image, produced by the photons that come directly toward Earth (in blue contours). When viewed at the imaging resolution of the Event Horizon Telescope, the two components blur together. However, by separately searching for the thin ring, it is possible to sharpen the view of M87, isolating the fingerprint of strong gravity.
Credit
Broderick et al. 2022, ApJ, 935, 61
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License
CC BY-NC