SUNSET: 
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.
X-rays Offer View Inside the Black Hole-Powered Plasma Guns
Polarized X-rays are helping astronomers take a closer look at blazars’ “plasma guns,” the particle jets powered by supermassive black holes.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Sneak Peek at Two Promising Comets
Ready to chase comets? We look at two fuzzy solar system travelers that will keep you on your toes all fall and winter long.
Shredded Star Reveals a Dwarf Galaxy’s Central Black Hole
A luminous flare provides astronomers with a rare opportunity to measure the mass of an otherwise quiescent black hole at the center of a dwarf galaxy.
Wobbly Star Reveals the Closest Black Hole Yet
The most compelling dormant stellar-mass black hole candidate in the Milky Way orbits a Sun-like star only 1,570 light-years away.
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.
Blazar's Outburst Hid Repeating Signal
Pulses originating almost a billion light-years away hint at extreme physics near a supermassive black hole.
Giant Black Holes Make Tiny, Ghost-like Particles
Blazars, the gas-guzzling black holes at the center of galaxies, could make most of the tiny particles known as neutrinos we catch on Earth.
A Black Hole Lurks in a Galaxy Near Our Own
Astronomers have found a dormant black hole orbiting a massive blue star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
Where Did the First Quasars Come From?
New research shows how black holes with tens of thousands of Suns' worth of mass can form in the universe's early years.
The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle
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.
Have We Found the First Rogue Black Hole in the Milky Way?
Hubble observations have revealed a stellar-mass compact object — a black hole or possibly a neutron star — wandering our galaxy.
The Life and Times of Immortal Stars
Under the right conditions, stars could become immortal. How is this possible, and what does it mean for these stars’ surroundings?
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*.
10 New Merger Events in Gravitational-Wave Data
An independent team has found additional black hole mergers in LIGO data.
“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.
Magnetic "Spoon" Feeds Supermassive Black Hole
Astronomers have imaged the magnetic field along which gas flows to a galaxy's central black hole.
These Two Black Hole Behemoths Will Merge in 10,000 Years
Astronomers have discovered a pair of supermassive black holes that whirl around each other every two years.
Black Hole Spins Crookedly
Astronomers have found a black hole leaning decidedly askew in its orbit with a star.
Supermassive Black Hole Hides Behind a Ring of Dust
A high-resolution infrared image has revealed a dust screen obscuring a gas-devouring supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy NGC 1068, confirming 30-year-old predictions.