Black hole seen for first time in image showing matter being sucked into timeless oblivion

A black hole surrounded by swirling ring of fire has been pictured by scientists for the first time in an image described as ‘the gates of hell, at the end of space and time.’

The phenomenon which has never been observed before shows superheated matter being pulled towards the event horizon after which nothing can escape.

It was captured by a global team of more than 200 scientists using eight telescopes, and is the first visual proof of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, which predicts that when enough mass collapses together it deforms spacetime creating a gravity field that pulls even light inside.

“We are giving humanity its first view of a black hole, a one-way door out of our universe,”…