1–20 of 53 results
dark hole surrounded by hot disk of swirling gas and shooting out a jet from its rotation axis

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Black Hole May Have Formed by Direct Collapse

Astronomers may have spotted a supermassive black hole in the early universe that formed when a gargantuan gas cloud imploded.

bright dot with stream with bright edges and mostly empty interior shooting out from it, with a zoom on the bright dot showing it's a ring

Black Holes

First Image of Black Hole Shadow and Jet Together

For the first time, astronomers have seen how the big plasma jet shot out by a supermassive black hole connects to the material falling into the black hole.

two glowing orange rings, one thick, one thin

Black Holes

The First Black Hole Image, Take Two

A new analysis of Event Horizon Telescope data sharpens our view of the glowing gas encircling the black hole.

Gravitational waves from GW190521

Black Holes

The Challenge of Weird Black Hole Mergers

When spacetime shivers last only a fraction of a second — as in the case of the massive-black-hole merger GW190521 — astronomers struggle to uncover their origins.

Orange ring around dark center, with a hot bubble circling it

Black Holes

Hotspot Zooms Around Our Galaxy’s Black Hole

Astronomers have detected a bubble of hot gas circling our galaxy’s central black hole soon after seeing a flare, suggesting both arose from the same process.

diffuse glow surrounding a bright core

Black Holes

Monstrous Black Holes Spin More Slowly — But Why?

X-ray observations add to growing evidence that the most massive black holes have a different past than their lightweight peers.

black hole surrounded by a glowing orange ring

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Astronomers Unveil Image of the Milky Way’s Central Black Hole

Using a worldwide array of telescopes, the Event Horizon Telescope team has given us our first look at Sagittarius A*.

The merger of a black-hole binary

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

10 New Merger Events in Gravitational-Wave Data

An independent team has found additional black hole mergers in LIGO data.

big, bright, bluish star surrounded by a disk and near a second big, bright bluish star

Stellar Science

“Closest Black Hole” Doesn’t Exist, After All

Astronomers combined forces to confirm that a black hole proposed to lie a mere 1,000 light-years away isn’t really there.

a large flat purple and gold disc in front of an orange orb on a black background

Black Holes

Black Hole Spins Crookedly

Astronomers have found a black hole leaning decidedly askew in its orbit with a star.

a range of lines with blue dots on top and bottom creating a shape similar to a bird with spread wings. red and yellow dots run along the outline of the bottom half, all on a black background.

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Third Gravitational-Wave Catalog Released

The latest results from LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA bring several key revelations, including that black holes tend to come with certain masses.

black hole shredding star

Black Holes

Shredded Star Reveals Elusive Middle-Mass Black Hole

Astronomers have used the death of a star to uncover details about a hidden intermediate-mass black hole.

Cen A jets

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Event Horizon Telescope Reveals Curious Jet Structure from Black Hole

Observations of the nearest radio galaxy, Centaurus A, provide the highest-resolution look at the long jets shooting from the galaxy’s supermassive black hole.

Black Holes

Gravitational Waves Reveal Black Hole–Neutron Star Mergers

Two new detections give astrophysicists a novel look at how stellar remnants pair up.

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.

illustration of active galaxy

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

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.

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.

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

Black Holes

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.