Credit: National Academy of Sciences
Astronomers Heino Falcke of Radboud University and Sheperd Doeleman of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics will jointly receive the Henry Draper Medal for their pioneering work, which led to the first image of a black hole. The medal is awarded every four years by the American National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and is presented with a $25,000 prize. It is the first time in 65 years that a Dutch astronomer will receive this special award.
The Henry Draper Medal honours a recent, original investigation in astronomical physics. It is the oldest NAS prize and was first awarded in 1886. Since that time, 54 scientists have received the medal, including eight Nobel Prize winners.