Reuters Science News Summary

Following is a summary of current science news briefs. Remarkable image of black hole released in astrophysics breakthrough

An international scientific team on Wednesday announced a milestone in astrophysics - the first-ever photo of a black hole - using a global network of telescopes to gain insight into celestial objects with gravitational fields so strong no matter or light can escape. The research was conducted by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project, an international collaboration begun in 2012 to try to directly observe the immediate environment of a black hole using a global network of Earth-based telescopes. The announcement was made in simultaneous news conferences in Washington, Brussels, Santiago, Shanghai, Taipei and Tokyo. Elon Musk's SpaceX sends world's most powerful rocket on first commercial flight

The most powerful operational rocket in the world, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, launched its first commercial mission on Thursday from Florida in a key demonstration for billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's space company in the race to grasp lucrative military launch contracts. The 23-story-tall Heavy, which previously launched Musk’s cherry red Tesla roadster to space in a 2018 debut test flight, blasted off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center carrying its first customer payload. Israel plans new moonshot after maiden mission fails

The aerospace company behind Israel's failed first moonshot said on Saturday it would pursue a second mission with funds raised from private donors and the public. The robot craft Beresheet, built by non-profit SpaceIL and state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), crashed on its final descent on Thursday, dashing Israel's hope of becoming the fourth country to manage a controlled lunar landing. Oh, brother! NASA twins study shows how space changes the human body

An American astronaut experienced multiple biological changes in space but returned to normal - with some exceptions - after coming back to Earth, according to a study involving twin brothers that shed light on how space flight affects the human body. In research published on Thursday, scientists compared Scott Kelly to identical twin Mark Kelly after Scott spent 340 days in orbit on the International Space Station and Mark remained Earth-bound. Both are now retired as NASA astronauts, and Mark is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona.