
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.

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.

Stellar Remnant at the Core of Mysterious Flash Dubbed "The Cow"
Astronomers have identified the origin of a mysterious flash that occurred three years ago.

Did Astronomers Spot a Black Hole in Another Galaxy? Maybe Not
Astronomers might have spotted a stellar-mass black hole in another galaxy — but not everyone agrees with what they found.

Addressing a Gap in Our Knowledge of Black Holes
Gravitational waves offer a test of whether supernovae can produce black holes between 55 and 120 times the Sun's mass.

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.

Watch Black Holes Grow, Galaxies Fall
Watch black holes grow and galaxies fall — astro photos and visualizations to get you through the week.

From Starving Black Holes to Warped Galaxies
Hot topics from the American Astronomical Society summer meeting range from colliding galaxies, to warped galaxies, to starving 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.

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.

Planet-eating White Dwarfs, A Black Hole Cluster & The "Farfarout" Object
This week in astronomy news, astronomers found planet-eating white dwarfs, a cluster of black holes, and a "farfarout" object that's now the most distant known in the solar system.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.