How to Take a Picture of a Black Hole

Making the impossible possible, inspiring and guiding others, thinking long-term, persevering, collaborating, working together with confidence, and keeping the goal in sight. All of this was necessary before Heino Falcke, together with the international Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) team, was able to present a groundbreaking image in April 2019 and thereby make scientific history.

For over 25 years, he remained true to his vision of making the first image of a black hole visible in order to get closer to the boundaries of space and time—a global sensation that earned him numerous awards, including the Breakthrough Award, the Einstein Medal, the Henry Draper Medal from the National Academy of Sciences, and the Herschel Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society. Heino Falcke’s journey into the vastness of space transports his audience to another, fascinating world that is, after all, so closely connected to our own. In addition to the great existential questions that gazing at the sky raises for us, the renowned astronomer will also shed light on his current projects in his lecture: the Namibia Telescope and the latest findings from the EHT Collaboration.

As a special addition, the planetarium program “Black Hole – First Picture” by Mirage 3D will be shown once during the lecture. Heino Falcke is not only an outstanding scientist but also a gifted communicator who makes the incomprehensible comprehensible while always keeping people in mind. His non-fiction book “Light in the Dark: Black Holes, the Universe, and Us” spent many weeks on the SPIEGEL bestseller list and has already been published in 14 languages. His children’s book “Cookie Crumbs in Space: How Big Is Infinity?”, which he co-authored with his wife Dagmar Falcke, also became a bestseller.

• Afterward, there will be an opportunity to purchase books by Heino Falcke and have them signed.