The data also offer some hints about how some supermassive black holes manage to unleash gargantuan jets of particles traveling at near light-speed. One of the chief takeaways is a more direct calculation of the black hole’s mass, which tracks closely with estimates derived from the motion of orbiting stars. Six papers published today in the Astrophysical Journal Lettersdescribe the observational tour de force, the process of achieving it, and the details that the image reveals. “What you are seeing is evidence of an event horizon … we now have visual evidence of a black hole.” “We are delighted to be able to report to you today that we have seen what we thought was unseeable,” added project director Shep Doeleman of the Harvard-Smithsonian Institute for Astrophysics. Like the cats, I choose to believe.“We’ve been studying black holes for so long that sometimes it’s easy to forget that none of us has ever seen one,” National Science Foundation director France Cordova said today during a press conference announcing the team’s achievement, held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Would he like it back?īattle Ground, Indiana Hundreds of letters have been sent to the Museum by visitors who beg Robert’s forgiveness and ask him to remove his curseĪs for me, well, Robert and I were introduced several days ago and so far I’ve suffered no ill effects. His photo did turn out good, so he sat very nicely for me. Please do me a favor and tell Robert that we did not mean to anger or offend him and we’re sorry if we did. Again, the sound was horribly frightening. The first hit, which sounded like a gunshot in the house, took one large TV and the satellite dish, and the second hit got two more TV’s. We lost three TV’s and a large satellite dish. Our house was hit by lightning – not once, but TWICE! We were unplugging things, but not fast enough. The following day, back in Indiana, I went to the dentist to learn that my tooth had abscessed and I had to have a root canal. When we arrived in Miami for our flight back to Indianapolis, the plane broke and they had to “find” a different one for us. She packed up her two cats and headed for her parents house in Winter Haven and ended up in the middle of the storm there. After a problem laden and horrendous trip, she finally got home, only to be evacuated from there too. We were all forced to make alternate travel arrangements on the run. My sister-in-law was also having female health issues.

We were evacuated from our vacation spot three days early with my mouth in tremendous pain. Two days later, Hurricane Charly cut our vacation short and we joined the parade of evacuees leaving the islands. I began to develop a rather severe toothache. Since our visit to the museum, we’ve been under a dark cloud. Letters scattered at Robert’s feet and tacked up on an adjacent wall are testimonials from dozens of unbelievers who were cursed by Robert The Doll, such as this one: People, on the other hand, tend to doubt the legend, and have suffered the consequences.

The museum cats seem to believe in Robert’s dark powers – they keep their distance when staring up at the glass case in East Martello Museum where Robert is enthroned. Still others insist that Gene Otto’s ghost has returned to the doll whom he loved so much. There are many theories about why Robert behaves the way he does. The curse of Robert The Doll grew into such a well-known legend in Key West that whenever things went wrong, locals would simply shrug and say, “Blame it on Robert.” But Robert’s real fame came when the “Chucky” horror film series ( Child’s Play, Child’s Play 2, Child’s Play 3, Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky, etc.) came out, as they were said to have been modeled on the real-life story of Robert the Doll. Many who came in contact with Robert experienced bad luck, as if the doll was getting even for all the years he had been made a scapegoat. People insisted that the doll moved around and could be heard giggling behind their backs. Some say Robert’s face had begun to change by the time Gene died in 1974, that his eyes grew more expressive. Robert The Doll is on display at the East Martello Museum and Fort in Key West By the time Gene was married, Robert had taken the blame for a lifetime of lies, misdeeds, and mischief. As Gene grew up he blamed everything bad that happened on the doll. In 1903, Robert was given to four-year old Gene Otto, who lived in Key West. Curious, I began reading about the doll’s history. I snapped a photo of Robert The Doll before reading that he puts curses on anyone who takes his photograph.

Blackhole photo