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Groundbreaking black hole picture reborn as Google doodle, Firefox logo

Twitter users are hungry to make doughnut, Soundgarden and Eye of Sauron jokes about the much-anticipated picture released Wednesday.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
2 min read
First image of a black hole
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First image of a black hole

On April 10, Event Horizon Telescope researchers unveiled the first direct visual evidence of a supermassive black hole and its shadow. 

National Science Foundation

Behold the majesty of science. We've just seen the first ever image of a black hole. Now let's make silly jokes about it.

The Event Horizon Telescope project, which consists of an international network of radio telescopes, revealed a mind-blowing glimpse of an actual black hole on Wednesday. It looks like a fuzzy lopsided circle with a gradation of red, orange, yellow and white colors with a dark center.   

Watch this: How black holes swallow light, warp space-time and blow your mind

At first glance, every hobbit-loving Lord of the Rings fan noticed the black hole's resemblance to the Eye of Sauron.

But the black hole is giving us more than just the evil eye. It also resembles certain breakfast foods. Artist Paul Scott Canavan says he used Photoshop's shake reduction filter to clarify the picture. What he got was a cosmic doughnut.

System administrator Gabor Heja went in a less sugary direction and discovered the black hole is actually the biggest cinnamon raisin bagel in the world, and it's still hot.

Firefox communication design lead Sean Martell noticed a very familiar logo lurking in the black hole's bright circle.

Google couldn't resist getting in on the fun. It launched a Google Doodle featuring an animation of the black hole sucking down the Google letters.

googledoodleblackhole
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googledoodleblackhole

Google unveiled an animation of the black hole in action.

Google screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET

Children of the '90s now all have the 1994 Soundgarden hit Black Hole Sun stuck in their heads. Twitter user José Morales-González noticed a certain likeness between the Event Horizon image and the cover for Soundgarden's Superunknown album.

Rumors of a reboot of Disney 's 1979 sci-fi flick The Black Hole are getting a fresh look. "I see Disney's remake of The Black Hole has finally escaped development hell," tweeted screenwriter Phillip Bastien.

Science cartoonist and author Rosemary Mosco is a birder. She sees a bird's eye.

Twin Peaks fans found a parallel image in director David Lynch's return series.

If you've ever played the Katamari Damacy games, you'll appreciate this joke:

The black hole picture is shaping up to be a Rorschach test. What you see will depend on your hobbies and interests, and just how hungry you are when you're looking at it. 

Originally published April 10, 8:48 a.m. PT. 
Update, 2:23 p.m. PT: Added Google's black hole doodle.  

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