Abstract:
Using very long baseline interferometry Astronomers are able to
link together telescopes in different parts of the world to obtain incredible
angular resolution of millionths of an arc second. The Event
Horizon Telescope (EHT) is such a network, and this collaboration has
recently published the first-ever images of the supermassive blackholes
at the centre of Messier 87 and our own Milky Way. The Africa Millimetre
Telescope (AMT) will be the first millimetre-wave telescope on
the African continent, and will be an important addition to the EHT
network. The AMT will improve the EHT’s resolution, thus enabling
us to better understand these strange but important objects. The
AMT will be located in Namibia, and will see first-light in early 2024.