A worldwide collaboration reveals an unseen object

Large instruments, repeated measurements, mathematical tables and trained observers depended on patronage and coordinated labour.

Astronomical development emerged through movement, multilingual scholarship and debate across connected regions.

The collaboration released a reconstructed radio image of the shadow of the black hole in M87.

Linked radio facilities across continents produced the data behind the image.

The published image shows glowing material surrounding a dark central region.

The timeline places Babylonian eclipse tablets and Chinese sunspot reports before telescopic European solar research.

Under particular atmospheric conditions, large sunspots and unusual solar effects could be recorded without telescopes.

Historical reports extend the baseline for studying solar activity and its influence on Earth.

Including Asian and Mesopotamian observations shows that systematic solar knowledge did not begin with the European telescope.

The chapter compares how the Sun, Moon, Venus, Pleiades and other celestial figures are gendered across diverse African societies.