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Black Holes
If black holes are actually droplets of dark energy that convert stellar matter into this mysterious and dominant force, many "cosmic hiccups" could soon be cured.
NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) telescope has detected unexpected X-ray polarization from the "heartbeat black hole," formally known as IGR J17091-3624.
A new interpretation of dark energy data suggests that the mysterious force, which accelerated the early universe's expansion, emerged naturally from black holes.
Astronomers using AI have captured a once-in-a-lifetime cosmic event: a massive star’s violent death triggered by its black hole companion. The explosion, known as SN 2023zkd, not only produced a brilliant supernova but also shocked scientists by glowing twice, after years of strange pre-death brightening. Observed by telescopes worldwide, the event provided the strongest evidence yet that black holes can ignite stellar explosions.
Astronomers may have uncovered the origins of the mysterious “little red dots,” some of the strangest galaxies seen in the early universe. These tiny but brilliant objects, discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope, appear far too compact and bright to fit existing models of galaxy and black hole formation. A new study suggests they may have formed within rare dark matter halos that spin unusually slowly, creating conditions that squeeze matter into incredibly dense structures. If true, these galaxies could provide vital clues about how the first black holes and galaxies came into being.
More than 5,000 planets have been discovered beyond our solar system, allowing scientists to explore planetary evolution and consider the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Now, a UC Riverside study published in Physical Review D suggests that exoplanets, which are planets orbiting stars outside our solar system, could also serve as tools to investigate dark matter.
Researchers at Durham and collaborators in the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) mission have proposed a bold new theory that black holes could be converting matter into dark energy.
Surveying exoplanets could provide a new way to hunt for superheavy dark-matter particles The post Exoplanets suffering from a plague of dark matter could turn into black holes appeared first on Physics World.
A new theoretical study by University of Virginia astrophysicist Jonathan Tan, a research professor with the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Astronomy, proposes a comprehensive framework for the birth of supermassive black holes.
An international research team has reported remarkable findings from an XRISM observation of the black hole X-ray binary 4U 1630–472, located in our galaxy. XRISM is an X-ray astronomy satellite developed by Japan in collaboration with the United States and Europe and was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on September 7, 2023.
An international team of astronomers led by Matus Rybak (Leiden University, Netherlands) has proven, thanks to accidental double zoom, that millimeter radiation is generated close to the core of a supermassive black hole. Their findings have been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics and are available on the arXiv preprint server.
Chinese astronomers have spotted a hidden supermassive black hole in the background of a peculiar gravitational wave event from a black hole merger, hinting that all three singularities were locked in a never-before-seen triple system.
Astronomers have discovered what may be a massive star exploding while trying to swallow a black hole companion, offering an explanation for one of the strangest stellar explosions ever seen.
An international group of researchers led by Tel Aviv University (TAU) astronomers observed a flare caused when a star falls
Aug. 16, 2025: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.
Unexpected X-ray polarization challenges long-held ideas about how black holes behave.
There's a gap in black hole masses, and experts believe here is where 'lite intermediate black holes' reside.
The Webb telescope found that a far-off little red dot is the oldest known black hole, shrouded by gas that could help explain the ruby color.
Supercomputer simulations are helping scientists sharpen their understanding of the environment beyond a black hole’s "shadow," material just outside its event horizon.
With help from AI, astronomers have spotted a never-before-seen kind of supernova that seems to have been blowing up just as it was trying to gobble down a black hole.
Astronomers have discovered what may be a massive star exploding while trying to swallow a black hole companion, offering an explanation for one of the strangest stellar explosions ever seen.
When black holes are disrupted by things like infalling matter or gravitational waves, they vibrate like a bell struck with a clapper. The vibrations decay over time as the black hole returns to an equilibrium state. Astrophysicists can measure these vibrations to learn more about the black hole.
We know little about how young galaxies and their black holes grew up.
The unusual interaction triggered a strange new type of supernova that appeared to explode twice.
Artificial intelligence helps astronomers observe what may be the first known case of a star exploding while interacting with a black hole.
A supermassive black hole in the act of awakening from slumber haas been detected by a team of astronomers. Using powerful radio telescopes, they observed this sleeping giant as it began to stir for the first time, offering an unprecedented look at how these stellar monsters come to life. Located 6 billion light years away, this giant has been dormant but suddenly roared to life just 1,000 years ago, revealing secrets about how the universe's most powerful forces shape entire galaxies.
An international team of astronomers using NASA's IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer), has challenged our understanding of what happens to matter in the direct vicinity of a black hole.
Violent black hole collisions may create black hole 'morsels' no larger than an asteroid — and these bizarre objects could pave the way to unlocking new physics, a study claims.
A new theory suggests all supermassive black holes formed from the universe's first stars powered by dark matter annihilation, matching recent JWST data.
A new theoretical study by University of Virginia astrophysicist Jonathan Tan, a research professor with the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences' Department of Astronomy, proposes a comprehensive framework for the birth of supermassive black holes.
Astronomers using the James Webb telescope have zoomed in on a 'Little Red Dot' that existed just 500 million years after the Big Bang, and found that it may contain the earliest known black hole in the universe.
An astrophysicist has made a daring proposal to send a nano-sized spacecraft to the heart of a black hole.
Big brute 5 billion light-years from Earth is 36 billion times as massive as the Sun
Learn more about the discovery of a nearby black hole that we could be exploring in the coming decades.
Astronomers using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and the Very Large Array (VLA) have caught a supermassive black hole in the act of awakening from a long slumber, providing an unprecedented glimpse into the earliest stages of black hole activity. The discovery offers new insights into how these cosmic giants begin to influence their environments and could help solve longstanding puzzles about galaxy evolution.
If mature black holes had personalities, they would be extremely introverted. They don’t let anything out – not light, not particles, and certainly not music. Hawking radiation is a fascinating exception to this rule, but for astrophysical black holes, it is a tiny effect. But before they settle down, during their brief but wild youth, newly formed black holes ring out a strange, pure music. It would be beautiful to experience, and soon we will be able to do it. When a new black hole is formed,...
Of the renewable energy projects deemed controllable actions in 2023 and 2024, none have made it through the EPBC process. The post Black hole: Dozens of renewable energy projects still waiting on EPBC decision appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Astronomers have uncovered what may be the most massive black hole ever found, 36 billion times the mass of our Sun, hidden at the heart of the Cosmic Horseshoe galaxy. Located 5 billion light-years away, this ultramassive giant bends light into a perfect Einstein ring and whips nearby stars at incredible speeds.
A visionary plan proposes sending a paperclip-sized spacecraft, powered by Earth-based lasers, to a nearby black hole within a century. Led by astrophysicist Cosimo Bambi, the mission would test the limits of general relativity and explore the mysteries of event horizons. While current technology can t yet achieve it, advancements in nanocraft design, laser propulsion, and black hole detection could make the journey possible within decades, potentially rewriting the laws of physics as we know them.
Twin orbs of superhot plasma at the Milky Way's center known as the "Fermi bubbles" contain inexplicable clouds of cold hydrogen, new research reveals.
An international team of astronomers led by The University of Texas at Austin’s Cosmic Frontier Center has confirmed the most distant black hole ever observed. Located at the center of the galaxy CAPERS-LRD-z9, this black hole existed 13.3 billion years ago, just 500 million years after the Big Bang. As such, it provides a unique opportunity to study the structure and evolution of the period known as "Cosmic Dawn."
It's August, which means Hot Science Summer is two-thirds over. This week, NASA released an exceptionally pretty photo of Mars, a sharp panorama color altered to make the sky blue (???). California health authorities are warning hunters and trappers about contaminated game after one trapper caught a wild pig with bright blue muscle tissue. The pigs and other wildlife may have been exposed to the anticoagulant rodenticide diphacinone. And an international team of astronomers identified the oldest known black hole ever confirmed—the object was present 500 million years after the Big Bang.
Calculations suggest stars that are very viscous could reflect gravitational waves and produce signals very similar to those produced by black holes
Astronomers from Brazil and the UK have detected what could be the most massive black hole ever found. It's about 36 billion solar masses, which is a stunning 10,000 times more massive than Sagittarius A*, the monstrous supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way. This behemoth is about 5 billion light-years away.
Astronomers spotted the ultramassive black hole inside the Cosmic Horseshoe, an equally gargantuan galaxy so powerful that it bends light from distant galaxies.
A newfound supermassive black hole from the dawn of the universe challenges how early cosmic giants formed.
Learn about the universe's earliest black hole, located within an unusually bright and red galaxy that was born 500 million years after the Big Bang.
A black hole 36 billion times heavier than our Sun has been discovered in the Cosmic Horseshoe galaxy. The cosmic colossus is near the upper limit of what astrophysicists believe is possible for black hole size. The Cosmic Horseshoe is actually a system of 2 galaxies. One galaxy is further away from Earth while the […]
A beam of particles speeding away from a monstrous black hole is severely kinked, suggesting that the black hole is actually part of the most extreme binary system known.
Scientists have tapped into gravitational lensing and stellar dynamics to confirm the existence of a black hole with 36 billion solar masses.
A galaxy billions of light years from Earth houses what may be the most massive black hole in the universe, equivalent to cramming the full mass of a small galaxy into a single object
A bold new proposal envisions launching laser-propelled nanocraft to a nearby black hole to test Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity.
"When looking for black holes, this is about as far back as you can practically go. We're really pushing the boundaries..."
An ambitious plan to test extreme physics close to a black hole would involve a space probe weighing only a few grams, travelling at a third of the speed of light
Astronomers have discovered potentially the most massive black hole ever detected. The cosmic behemoth is close to the theoretical upper limit of what is possible in the universe and is 10,000 times heavier than the black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy.
The ancient behemoth was present just 500 million years after the Big Bang.
The proposal is highly theoretical and likely will take at least several decades to realize, but if we’re hoping someday to visit a black hole, scientists need to start somewhere.
It sounds like science fiction: a spacecraft, no heavier than a paperclip, propelled by a laser beam and hurtling through space at the speed of light toward a black hole, on a mission to probe the very fabric of space and time and test the laws of physics. But to astrophysicist and black hole expert Cosimo Bambi, the idea is not so far-fetched.
The binary black holes in the universe are already astonishing enough, but researchers from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have made a groundbreaking discovery that these binary black holes may not be "lonely wanderers" after all—there could be an even more mysterious "giant" lurking behind them.
What’s in the middle of the Milky Way? In our neck of the cosmos, everything revolves around a supermassive black hole.
The cosmic behemoth is close to the theoretical upper limit of what is possible in the universe and is 10,000 times heavier than the black hole at the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy.
An international team of astronomers, led by The University of Texas at Austin's Cosmic Frontier Center, has identified the most distant black hole ever confirmed. It and the galaxy it calls home, CAPERS-LRD-z9, are present 500 million years after the Big Bang. That places it 13.3 billion years into the past, when our universe was just 3% of its current age. As such, it provides a unique opportunity to study the structure and evolution of this enigmatic period.
This is the first confirmed case of a star that survived an encounter with a supermassive black hole and came back for more. This discovery upends conventional wisdom about such tidal disruption events and suggests that these spectacular flares may be just the opening act in a longer, more complex story.
Wednesday's papers lead on the next budget, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves under pressure to stick to her spending promises.
What’s in the middle of the Milky Way? In our neck of the cosmos, everything revolves around a supermassive black hole.
Black holes are massive, strange and incredibly powerful astronomical objects. Scientists know that supermassive black holes reside in the centers of most galaxies.
JWST observations of light sources before the first galaxies should have formed are raising new questions about our galactic origins
Scientists are uncovering how spinning black holes launch jets, warp spacetime and shape the cosmos
A beam of particles speeding away from a monstrous black hole is severely kinked, suggesting that the black hole is actually part of the most extreme binary system known.
These star-shredding black holes sit within dusty galaxies that block many telescopes’ views. That’s not an issue for JWST.
Using a powerful mathematical tool, scientists have unveiled the intricate "ringing" of black holes, unlocking patterns missed for decades and laying the groundwork for sharper gravitational wave measurements.
New research suggests that primordial black holes could have played an important role in the formation of the universe's first stars, but did they help or hinder?
The first black hole images stunned the world in 2019, with headlines announcing evidence of a glowing doughnut-shaped object from the center of galaxy Messier 87 (M87 —55 million light years from Earth. Supercomputer simulations are now helping scientists sharpen their understanding about the environment beyond a black hole's 'shadow,' material just outside its event horizon.
Astronomers believe they have spotted an elusive intermediate-mass black hole shredding a distant star, and they have re-created the stellar murder in a stunning new animation.
Black holes embody the ultimate abyss. They are the most powerful sources of gravity in the universe, capable of dramatically distorting space and time around them. When disturbed, they begin to "ring" in a distinctive pattern known as "quasinormal modes": ripples in space-time that produce detectable gravitational waves.
Exploring the BTZ black hole in (2+1)-dimensional gravity took me down a fascinating rabbit hole, connecting ideas I never expected—like black holes and topological phases in quantum matter! When I swapped the roles of space and time in the equations (it felt like turning my map upside down when I was lost in a new city), I discovered an interior version of the solution existing alongside the familiar exterior, each with its own thermofield double state.
Unlike active galaxies that constantly pull in surrounding material, these black holes lie dormant, waking briefly to feast on a passing star.
Puzzling objects spotted by NASA’s JWST telescope may be entirely new class of celestial entity
An infinity symbol–shaped galaxy hosts an active supermassive black hole. The growing giant may have come from the aftermath of a galactic smashup.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers hunted supermassive black holes devouring stars in dusty galaxies — but laying in wait for their stellar victims.
Author(s): Marco ChianeseThe memory-burden effect is expected to alter the evaporation rate of black holes as the emitted energy becomes comparable to the black hole’s total energy, opening up a possibility for lighter primordial black holes to survive as a component of dark matter. In this Suggestion, the authors examine the production of a diffuse gamma ray flux from such evaporation processes. Taking into account the interaction with background radiation at energies above 10^5 GeV, and secondary emission from the electromagnetic cascades in extragalactic space, they set new bounds on the parameter space of such black holes. [Phys. Rev. D 112, 023043] Published Mon Jul 28, 2025
A carbon price could plug a budget hole as governments are forced to keep supporting renewable energy projects, as LGC prices fall. The post Garnaut says carbon price could solve budget black hole and fill funding gap from LGC collapse appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Plenty of groups have been theorizing about primordial black holes (PBHs) recently. That is in part because of their candidacy as a potential source of dark matter. But, if they existed, they also had other roles to play in the early universe. According to a recent draft paper released on the arXiv preprint server by Jeremy Mould and Adam Batten of Swinburne University, one of those roles could be as the seeds that eventually form both quasars and radio galaxies.
Plenty of groups have been theorizing about Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) recently. That is in part because of their candidacy as a potential source of dark matter. But, if they existed, they also had other roles to play in the early universe. According to a recent draft paper released on arXiv by Jeremy Mould and Adam Batten of Swinburne University, one of those roles could be as the seeds that eventually form both quasars and radio galaxies.
Scientists working to study black holes use specific radio frequencies to track black holes, the same frequencies often used by phones and wifi.
The Hubble Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory saw an enigmatic intermediate-mass black hole lighting up in X-rays, potentially revealing a way of finding more of them in the future.
NASA'S Hubble Space Telescope and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have detected evidence of what could be an Intermediate Mass Black Hole eating a star. It's in a galaxy 450 million light-years away, and unusual x-ray emissions highlight its location.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have teamed up to identify a new possible example of a rare class of black holes. Called NGC 6099 HLX-1, this bright X-ray source seems to reside in a compact star cluster in a giant elliptical galaxy.
Astronomers at MIT, Columbia University, and elsewhere have used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to peer through the dust of nearby galaxies and into the aftermath of a black hole's stellar feast.
Black holes played a critical role in the formation of the early universe. However, astronomers have been debating for a long time just how critical, as the information we had about early black holes, which exist at high red-shifts, was relatively limited.
A death-defying star survived destruction by a ravenous supermassive black hole in a tidal disruption event, and came back to let the cosmic titan take another bite!
Black holes played a critical role in the formation of the early universe. However, astronomers have been debating for a long time just how critical, as the information we had about early black holes, which exist at high red-shifts, was relatively limited. A new paper from a group of researchers led by Sophia Geris at the University of Cambridge combined several spectra from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to add some context to the formation of black holes early in the universe, and found that there are plenty of smaller ones lurking around, and lending credence to the idea that black holes of all sizes contributed to the formation of our modern universe.
Stellar mass black holes are created by core-collapse supernovae. These occur when massive stars near the end of their lives collapse in on themselves and form a black hole. Supermassive black holes form through mergers with other massive black holes. But their could be a third kind, called direct-collapse black holes, and the JWST found evidence of one.
Lightning might not strike twice, but black holes apparently do. An international group of researchers led by Tel Aviv University astronomers observed a flare caused when a star falls onto a black hole and is destroyed.
When the JWST began science observations in July 2022, it flung open a whole new window on the universe. The JWST looked further back in time than any other telescope, and it revealed several surprises. One of them was the Little Red Dots (LRD), ancient, faint objects that the powerful space telescope detected as far back as only 600 million years after the Big Bang.
What are the JWST's Little Red Dots? While they appear to be galaxies, there's no observational certainty. New research examines the idea that they're actually stars, suggesting that they're actually the progenitors for supermassive black holes.
Lightning might not strike twice, but black holes apparently do. An international group of researchers led by Tel Aviv University astronomers observed a flare caused when a star falls onto a black hole and is destroyed.
Author(s): Michael SchirberScientists observe the most massive merger event yet, with the colliding black holes lying in a mass range that is incompatible with the standard stellar-formation scenario. [Physics 18, 136] Published Thu Jul 17, 2025
Twin orbs of superhot plasma at the Milky Way's center known as the "Fermi bubbles" contain inexplicable clouds of cold hydrogen, new research reveals. They could help scientists figure out when our galaxy's black hole last erupted.