Ancient blazar discovery suggests early universe had more supermassive black holes
Scientists have discovered the oldest and most distant blazar ever seen, named J0410–0139.
This powerful object is located 12.9 billion light-years away and provides a...
Scientists propose a new kind of black hole without a singularity
Black holes are one of the most mysterious objects in the universe. According to Albert Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, black holes have something...
Scientists detect dark matter surrounding supermassive black holes in the early universe
An international team of researchers has found that dark matter dominates the halos of two supermassive black holes in galaxies nearly 13 billion light-years away. Their study,...
Black holes are spinning faster than expected
There’s a Universe full of black holes out there, spinning merrily away—some fast, others more slowly.
A recent survey of supermassive black holes reveals that...
About a third of supermassive black holes are hiding
Supermassive black holes can have trillions of times more mass than the Sun, only exist in specific locations, and could number in the trillions.
How...
Astronomers see flares coming from the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole
There’s plenty of action at the center of the galaxy, where a supermassive black hole (SMBH) known as Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) literally holds...
Why we study black holes and neutron stars
Black holes and neutron stars are among the most fascinating and mysterious objects in the universe.
These cosmic phenomena form when massive stars reach the...
An early supermassive black hole took a little break between feasts
In the last couple of decades, it’s become increasingly clear that massive galaxies like our own Milky Way host supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in...
Scientists discover sleeping giant black hole in the early universe
Astronomers have discovered a massive black hole in the early universe that seems to be "napping" after a feast.
This black hole, found using the...
How did black holes grow so quickly
Within nearly every galaxy is a supermassive black hole.
The beast at the heart of our galaxy contains the mass of millions of suns, while...