SUNSET: 
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.
Blazar's Outburst Hid Repeating Signal
Pulses originating almost a billion light-years away hint at extreme physics near a supermassive black hole.
Magnetic "Spoon" Feeds Supermassive Black Hole
Astronomers have imaged the magnetic field along which gas flows to a galaxy's central black hole.
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.
Black Hole Duo Flares Right on Time
Astronomers have forecast a flare from a supermassive black hole duo 3.5 billion light-years away.
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.
Ring Found Around a Galaxy’s “Hidden” Black Hole
A team of astronomers has taken a close look at a nearby galaxy — and discovered an unusual structure that sheds light on supermassive black holes’ relationships with their host galaxies.
Watching a Quasar Shut Down
Over the course of ten years, a once-brilliant quasar seems to have stopped gobbling down nearby gas.
The Quasar Main Sequence
A new diagram might link the diverse visible-light characteristics of quasars to two physical properties — essentially, their accretion rate and orientation. If the analysis holds up, it could point the way toward a long-sought unification.
Peering Into Black Holes' Pasts
Galaxies’ central black holes are surprisingly simple creatures at heart, but they have a complicated past. New studies are starting to remove history’s obfuscating veil.
Spotting a Nearby Quasar’s Winds
A neighboring galaxy’s central black hole powers strong winds, allowing astronomers — for the first time — to spot those gales pushing out star-forming gas.
Dust in the Heart of Circinus
Infrared observations of the Circinus Galaxy may help reveal the shape of the dusty region fueling its active galactic nucleus and shed light on what governs dust structures in other galaxies.
