81–100 of 229 results
OJ 287 (artist's concept)

Black Holes

Black Hole Duo Flares Right on Time

Astronomers have forecast a flare from a supermassive black hole duo 3.5 billion light-years away.

illustration of triple system HR 6819

Black Holes

Closest Black Hole to Earth? Maybe

An international team of astronomers says that they’ve discovered the closest black hole to Earth — an invisible object dancing with two large, bright stars 1,000 light-years away.

Black Holes

What Kinds of Black Hole Partners Merge?

New research on black hole mergers reveals that the black hole pairs tend to have similar masses — suggesting that they start out as massive stellar pairs.

Illustration of black hole merger

Black Holes

Mismatched Black Holes Merge

For the first time, the LIGO and Virgo gravitational-wave detectors have "heard" gravitational waves from an unequal pair of black holes.

star draws rosette around black hole

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Black Hole Changes Star’s Orbit in Gravity Test

A long-awaited measurement indicates that a star whizzing around the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole has changed its trajectory.

series of zooms on 3C 279's jet

Black Holes

Event Horizon Telescope Finds Bent Jet Near Black Hole

Observations from the worldwide network of radio telescopes show the fire hose of plasma shooting from a distant galaxy does something strange near its source.

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Scientists Predict Countless Rings of Light Encircle Black Holes

Detailed calculations reveal a surprise about how black holes bend light around themselves, opening a new possibility for future observations.

Dwarf Galaxy

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

More Big Black Holes Found in Small Galaxies

In the quest to discover how massive black holes form, astronomers have spotted several of these objects in some of the smallest galaxies yet found to host them.

Supermassive Black hole

Black Holes

The Appearance of a Black Hole’s Shadow

In April of this year, the Event Horizon Telescope captured the first detailed images of the shadow of a black hole. In a new study, a team of scientists has now explored what determines the size and shape of black hole shadows like this one.

Star orbiting black hole

Black Holes

Heavyweight Black Hole Find Mystifies Astronomers

Observations of a star have found it orbiting an unexpectedly massive black hole. If the discovery pans out, it would change our understanding of how massive stars die.

NGC 6240 and its three black holes

Galaxies

Three Black Holes May Merge in Nearby Galaxy

New observations of a galactic crash site show that there are not just two but three supermassive black holes on the verge of union. Two of them are only 650 light-years apart, the closest pair known.

Black Holes

Bubbles, Heated Clouds Point to Active Past for Galactic Center

Two studies support the suspicion that our galaxy’s black hole had one or more outbursts a few million years ago.

Illustration of black hole merger

Black Holes

More Black Hole Mergers Found in LIGO Data

Analysis by an independent team has ferreted out seven candidates for gravitational-wave events from merging black holes.

tidal disruption event

Black Holes

Exoplanet Hunter Sees a Black Hole-Shredded Star

NASA's TESS exoplanet-hunting satellite has provided astronomers with a front-row seat as a black hole shreds a close-venturing star.

Black Holes

Video: Black Hole Warps Light

The hypnotizing effect of a black hole on its surroundings appears to dramatic effect in this simulation.

Illustration of black holes merging

Black Holes

60-Second Astro News: Black Hole Hubbub

The Milky Way's black hole' flares unexpectedly, a distant black hole gets the hiccups, and a reanalysis of LIGO data shows the first detection of black hole "ringdown."

star in gravitational well

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Galactic Center Gravity Test Confirmed

A second team of astronomers has now confirmed the light from a star passing near our galaxy’s central black hole behaved as predicted by Einstein’s theory of gravity.

Simulation of neutron star - black hole merger

Professional Telescopes

Gravitational-wave Detectors Come Online, Find Possible Black Hole-Neutron Star Crash

Only a month into a new observing run, gravitational-wave observatories have announced five new signals — one of which could turn out to be a black hole swallowing a neutron star.

Event Horizon Telescope 2017

Black Holes

How Does the Event Horizon Telescope Work?

The Event Horizon Telescope creates the image of a black hole shadow thanks to the precise coordination of a worldwide telescope network. Here’s how they do it.

shadow image of M87

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Scientists Unveil First Black Hole Image

The Event Horizon Telescope collaboration has reconstructed the shadow of a supermassive black hole.