61–80 of 229 results
Closest black hole?

Black Holes

Is the “Unicorn” the Closest Black Hole?

Astronomers again think they have found the black hole nearest to us, just 1,500 light-years away, but the find still needs to be confirmed.

An artist’s impression of the collision of two black holes

Black Holes

Redefining a Heavy Collision

Could the biggest — literally — gravitational-wave discovery yet be something other than what it initially seemed?

An artist's impression of a gas cloud as it passes the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

Milky Way

Flares from the Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole

The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way released an unusual number of strong flares in 2019. Now, astronomers are trying to figure out why.

polarized emission around black hole

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Astronomers Detect Strong Magnetic Fields Around M87’s Black Hole

Event Horizon Telescope data support the idea that magnetic fields control how black holes feed and grow.

Most distant quasar

Black Holes

A Supermassive Black Hole on the Move

This supermassive black hole is restless, and astronomers want to know why.

Tidal disruption event

Stellar Science

Star-shredding Black Hole Makes Ghostlike Particle

A single high-energy neutrino may shed light on a star being swallowed by a supermassive black hole some 690 million light-years away.

Cygnus X-1

Black Holes

First-detected Black Hole is More Massive Than We Thought

A higher mass for Cygnus X-1, the first black hole to be discovered, challenges ideas about the evolution of massive stars.

illustration of X-ray binary system

Milky Way

Astronomy News: Galactic One-Two Punch, Black Hole Heartbeat Falters

In the news this week: Globular clusters have the detailed scoop on our galaxy's past, and a "heartbeat" black hole binary in the Milky Way has gone mysteriously dim.

Most distant quasar

Black Holes

What the Most Distant Quasar Tells Us About Black Hole Birth

The existence of a quasar when the universe was only 670 million years old is helping astronomers understand how black holes are born.

Supermassive black hole devouring a star

Black Holes

Black Hole Feasts on Star, Bite by Bite

Like a cosmic blinker, a distant supermassive black hole is flaring every 114 days. Astronomers believe the eerily regular signal betrays the piecemeal devouring of a star.

Timing an array of pulsars

Black Holes

Pulsars Show Hint of Gravitational-wave Background

Duos of supermassive black holes tangoing throughout the universe make their own music, and astronomers may have picked up a hint of the tune.

illustration of active galaxy

Black Holes

Survey Finds Newborn Black Hole Jets in Distant Galaxies

Astronomers have spotted a surprising number of quasars with jets launched within a couple of decades.

big black hole merger

Black Holes

Big Black Holes Dominate New Gravitational-Wave Catalog

Gravitational-wave scientists have unveiled their latest catalog of events, revealing a surprising number of massive black holes.

Artist's impression of HR 6819

Black Holes

Casting Doubt on a Nearby Black Hole

New research has shown that the recently-discovered closest black hole to Earth might not be a black hole after all but a binary star.

Stars orbit black hole

Black Holes

Black Hole Scientists Win 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics

This year’s award goes to three researchers who played key roles in developing the theoretical and observational evidence for black holes.

Gravitational waves from GW190521

Cosmology

Record-breaking Signal Reveals New Population of Black Holes

Gravitational-wave observatories have detected the most massive black hole merger yet, and it's challenging our ideas of black hole formation.

black hole binary in AGN disk

Black Holes

Black Hole Collision May Have Caused Burst of Light

Astronomers think they’ve detected a flash created by the merger of two black holes.

visualization of GW190814 gravitational-wave event

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Gravitational Wave Detectors Find Mystery “Mass Gap” Object

Astronomers have caught a black hole colliding with a mysterious companion that might be either one of the most massive neutron stars or the smallest black hole ever detected.

Erosita's first all-sky X-ray survey

Professional Telescopes

First All-sky Map from eRosita

The first all-sky X-ray map to be released in 30 years reveals new wonders of the hot and energetic universe.

supermassive black hole with accretion disk

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Black Holes Grow by Gas, Not Mergers, Most of Their Lives

Calculations suggest how black holes have amassed mass and predict what the black holes’ spins should be if this picture is correct.