Seeing to the Event Horizons of Supermassive Black Holes

Speaker: Dr. Dan Wilkins
Kavli Institute, Stanford University

On Monday, 29th September at 5:00 PM hear groundbreaking perspectives from a leading figure at the Kavli Institute.

Recent breakthroughs near black hole event horizons are offering exciting new views into some of the universe’s most mysterious regions. Using powerful X-ray telescopes, scientists have observed light bending around black holes, just as Einstein predicted over a century ago.

They’ve also detected faint echoes of X-rays bouncing off material hidden behind black holes, something never seen before. These findings help researchers understand how matter behaves in extreme gravity, how black holes consume surrounding material, and how energetic jets are launched.

It’s a major step toward mapping the chaotic environments near black holes and unlocking secrets about space, time, and gravity itself.

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