Capturing a Black Hole
Direct Imaging A Black Hole from Space
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) captured the first image of a black hole in 2019, providing direct confirmation of the existence of black holes. BHEX Mini (Black Hole Explorer Mini) is a satellite mission which seeks to take the next leap: Capturing the first video of a black hole. BHEX Mini will be an 87 kg, $25 milion radio satellite in low-earth orbit operating at 86 GHz. It will conduct a targeted survey of >25 secondary science targets, enabling population studies of supermassive black hole masses, spins, and luminosities. By virtue of orbiting in LEO, BHEX Mini would enable rapid and dense interferometric coverage for Sgr A* & M87 at 86 GHz, advancing direct imaging of the photon ring. If successful, BHEX Mini would also be the first satellite to achieve Space-Space VLBI by co-observing targets with BHEX in MEO.
Team
BHEX Mini Team
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Ref BariPhysics MS at Brown with publications on relativistic optomechanics and light sails in The Astronomical Journal and The Physics Teacher. NSF-funded to predict predict binary black hole mergers for NASA/ESA's LISA under Prof. Brendan Keith (NSF Neural DynAMO Grant).
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Graham NeelyBrown University undergraduate studying Mechanical Engineering and Applied Math. Current lead of BSE R&D team, building a high atmosphere balloon, and life-long space nerd.
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Mia FrickeyThird-year student at Brown University, majoring in Applied Math. I do math in many forms: BSE ADCS, manufacturing optimization, pharmaceutical biometry, and Head Teaching Assistant for honors statistical inference.
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Sebastian AbreuMechanical Engineering MS at Columbia studying the connection between space exploration and robotics - especially establishing a continued infrastructure presence on the Moon, Mars and beyond. Soccer lover and occasional pumpkin chucker.
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Gayda MohamedBrown University graduate in Biophysics and Health & Human Biology, interested in space biology and the intersections of medicine, science, and space. Current Fulbright Scholar in the UAE researching antimicrobial resistance, driven to apply scientific discovery to advance human health on Earth and beyond.
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Kaylee DeGennaroSecond-year student at Brown University studying physics and astrophysics. Primary interest in exoplanets and NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory. Current member of Prof. Ian Dell'Antonio's observational cosmology group. Additional experience in stellar polarimetry and a third-author article on that subject under review by Astrophysics and Space Science.
Team
BHEX Mini Team
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Ref BariPhysics MS at Brown with publications on relativistic optomechanics and light sails in The Astronomical Journal and The Physics Teacher. NSF-funded to predict predict binary black hole mergers for NASA/ESA's LISA under Prof. Brendan Keith (NSF Neural DynAMO Grant).
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Graham NeelyBrown University undergraduate studying Mechanical Engineering and Applied Math. Current lead of BSE R&D team, building a high atmosphere balloon, and life-long space nerd.
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Mia FrickeyThird-year student at Brown University, majoring in Applied Math. I do math in many forms: BSE ADCS, manufacturing optimization, pharmaceutical biometry, and Head Teaching Assistant for honors statistical inference.
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Sebastian AbreuMechanical Engineering MS at Columbia studying the connection between space exploration and robotics - especially establishing a continued infrastructure presence on the Moon, Mars and beyond. Soccer lover and occasional pumpkin chucker.
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Gayda MohamedBrown University graduate in Biophysics and Health & Human Biology, interested in space biology and the intersections of medicine, science, and space. Current Fulbright Scholar in the UAE researching antimicrobial resistance, driven to apply scientific discovery to advance human health on Earth and beyond.
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Kaylee DeGennaroSecond-year student at Brown University studying physics and astrophysics. Primary interest in exoplanets and NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory. Current member of Prof. Ian Dell'Antonio's observational cosmology group. Additional experience in stellar polarimetry and a third-author article on that subject under review by Astrophysics and Space Science.
Upcoming presentations
BHEX Mini Grant Proposals
Satellite mission proposal
BHEX Mini Talk (2025 Ivy Space Conference)
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Imaging the Photon Ring of a Black HoleThis talk discusses the proposed architechture, implementation, and funding for the BHEX Mini Mission.
Project Documentation
BHEX Mini Simulations
Simulations created by the BHEX Mini team to constrain SWaPC requirements and the feasibility of Primary Science Objectives. All of our code is open-source.
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Using Ben Hudson's SpaceVLBI library to simulate (u,v) coverage for BHEX Mini at 86 GHz. Currently supports only Space-Ground baselines and single-frequency observations.
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Using Aditya Tamar's approach to simulate the impact of ISM scattering on BHEX Mini's observations of Sgr A* at 86 GHz.
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Determining Duty Cycle of BHEX Mini given Quantization Scheme (1-bit or 2-bit), and amount of ground contact during LEO orbit.
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This notebook calculates the visibility amplitude for 25 Secondary Science Targets (SSTs), the Thermal Noise Constraint on the Space-Space & Space-Ground baseline, and the Antenna Diameter.
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Calculates Minimum Integration Time for BHEX Mini, given a target thermal noise floor and SEFD (System Equivalent Flux Density).
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Simulates the amount of time required for BHEX Mini to rotate by an angle θ to point at a new radio target, given the maximum spin rate, moment of inertia, and net torque.
