The first ever image of the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy is about to be revealed.
For years, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has been staring into the heart of the Milky Way, trying to obtain a photo of Sagittarius A*, our galaxy's central supermassive black hole.
Now the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has announced it will hold a press conference next week to present a "groundbreaking result" from the EHT.
The ESO is stressing "the importance of this result", and claims that it will be accompanied by "extensive supporting audiovisual material".
Scientists confirm MASSIVE black hole at the centre of our galaxy thanks to exciting new discovery
Supermassive black holes are believed to be at the centre of every galaxy, bending the fabric of space time and allowing new stars to form and the galaxies to expand.
Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way, is believed to have a mass of around 4 million suns.
But while scientists have long been able to predict that black holes exist, by witnessing their effect on the surrounding space, they've never been able to successfully picture one.
The EHT is not just one telescope but a global network of synchronised radio observatories that work in unison to create a "virtual" telescope, with an effective diameter of the entire planet.
Since launching in 2006, the EHT has been attempting to capture the silhouette of Sagittarius A* against a background of superheated plasma, created by the vast energy tossed out into space.
By pinpointing and recording this "event horizon", scientists will be able to firmly prove the existence of black holes that was first suggested by Albert Einstein.
The press conference is scheduled to take place at the Berlaymont Building in Brussels on Wednesday, April 10, at 15:00 CEST (14:00 BST).
It will be streamed online on the ESO website , by the ERC , and on social media .
