Black holes may be more chaotic than we ever imagined
Black holes are some of the most fascinating objects in the universe.
They are formed entirely from gravity, simple in appearance but hiding mysteries that...
New study suggests black holes get their “hair” from their mothers
Despite decades of study, black holes are still one of the most puzzling objects in the Universe.
As we know from Einstein’s Theory of General...
The biggest black holes may start from the tiniest seeds
The existence of gigantic black holes in the very early universe challenges our assumptions of how black holes form and grow.
New research suggests that...
Astronomers map the shape of a black hole’s corona for the first time
If you were lucky enough to observe a total eclipse, you are certain to remember the halo of brilliant light around the Moon during...
Two supermassive black holes on the verge of a merger
In March 2021, astronomers observed a high-energy burst of light from a distant galaxy. Assigned the name AT 2021hdr, it was thought to be...
Early black holes fed 40x faster than should be possible
The theory goes that black holes accrete material, often from nearby stars.
However the theory also suggests there is a limit to how big a...
How did supermassive black holes get so big, so early
Supermassive Black Holes (SMBHs) can have billions of solar masses, and observational evidence suggests that all large galaxies have one at their centres.
However, the...
A star disappeared in Andromeda, replaced by a black hole
Massive stars about eight times more massive than the Sun explode as supernovae at the end of their lives.
The explosions, which leave behind a...
Feasting black hole found devouring matter at unbelievable speeds in early universe
Astronomers have discovered a black hole in the early universe that is consuming matter at an astonishing rate—more than 40 times the theoretical limit.
This...
Another way to extract energy from black holes?
The gravitational field of a rotating black hole is powerful and strange.
It is so powerful that it warps space and time back upon itself,...