--- title: "In a Bizarre Twist, Astronomers Detect Light Coming From Behind Black Hole" description: "A team of scientists detected a series of bright lights coming from behind a supermassive black hole. Read how this is possible at Futurism." date: "2021-07-28" modified: "2021-08-04" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/astronomers-detect-light-behind-black-hole" categories: - "Astrophysics" - "Black Holes" - "Science & Energy" - "Space" tags: - "Black holes" - "supermassive black holes" - "the digest" - "theory of general relativity" --- # In a Bizarre Twist, Astronomers Detect Light Coming From Behind Black Hole ![A team of scientists detected a series of bright X-ray flares coming from one of the least expected places: from behind a supermassive black hole.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Back Entrance A team of scientists detected a series of bright flares of [X-ray light]() coming from one of the least expected places: behind a supermassive black hole. "Any light that goes into that black hole doesn't come out, so we shouldn't be able to see anything that's behind the black hole," said Stanford University astrophysicist Dan Wilkins, lead author of [a paper]() about the research published today in *Nature Communications*, in [a statement](). An unusual characteristic of black holes made the discovery possible. "The reason we can see that is because that black hole is warping space, bending light and twisting magnetic fields around itself," Wilkins said. Einstein's theory of general relativity has always predicted this, but the bending of light around a black hole has never been confirmed — until now, a testament to the recent advancements in technology that allowed this unprecedented look at our cosmos. ## Affirming Einstein It was an exciting moment in the history of astronomy. "Fifty years ago, when astrophysicists starting speculating about how the magnetic field might behave close to a black hole, they had no idea that one day we might have the techniques to observe this directly and see Einstein's general theory of relativity in action," said Roger Blandford, co-author and professor of physics at Stanford, in the statement. The team was studying coronas, the swirling halos of superheated gas that surround certain black holes. Once these gases get caught up in the magnetic field of the black hole, they produce X-rays, which we can observe from Earth. We still don't fully understand the coronas swirling around many black holes in our universe, but the European Space Agency's upcoming [Wide Field Imager detector]() could get us much higher resolution observations in the future. **READ MORE:** [First detection of light from behind a black hole]() \[Stanford University\] **More on black holes:** *[Astronomers Discover Closest-Ever Black Hole to Earth]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()