Could dark matter turn giant planets into black holes?
Astronomers have discovered more than 5,000 planets orbiting stars beyond our solar system, known as exoplanets.
These worlds are already changing how scientists think about...
Black holes may be powering the universe’s dark energy
For decades, scientists have puzzled over dark energy—the mysterious force causing the universe to expand faster and faster.
Now, researchers from Durham University, the University...
The universe’s first monster: Astronomers confirm earliest known black hole
Astronomers have confirmed the most distant black hole ever found, giving us a glimpse of one of the universe’s very first cosmic giants.
The discovery...
Astronomers find first signs of a third object behind merging black holes
Black holes are already some of the strangest objects in the universe, but a new discovery suggests that when two of them collide, there...
Astronomers spot rare star explosion triggered by a black hole
Astronomers have spotted one of the strangest space explosions ever recorded — a massive star blowing up while trying to swallow a black hole.
This...
Dancing dwarf galaxies predict our Milky Way’s future
A UQ survey studied the evolution of twin spiral galaxies about 3 billion years ahead of the Milky Way and Andromeda in merging.
It found...
Astronomers capture rare birth of black hole activity
A recent discovery by a team of astronomers centres on a galaxy cluster called CHIPS 1911+4455, located an incredible 6 billion light-years from Earth.
At...
Astronomers watch a giant black hole “wake up” for the first time
Astronomers have caught a rare cosmic event in action—a supermassive black hole “waking up” after a long period of inactivity. Using the Very Long...
Scientists trace light from a black hole 13.3 billion years in the past
Astronomers have confirmed the most distant black hole ever discovered, giving us a rare glimpse into the early universe.
This enormous black hole, along with...
Can we launch a spacecraft to a black hole? This scientist says yes
It might sound like something out of science fiction: a tiny spacecraft, no heavier than a paperclip, launched from Earth and traveling at a...