Black holes are encircled by thin rings of light. This physicist wants to see one

Black holes are predicted to be surrounded by mysterious photon rings—thin halos of light created when photons orbit the black hole before escaping. Physicist Alex Lupsasca leads the Black Hole Explorer project, planning to launch a space-based radio telescope in 2031 that would create an Earth-sized imaging system. Successfully detecting these photon rings would provide definitive proof that observed objects are actually black holes, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of these cosmic mysteries.