When Galaxies Collide: How Galactic Collisions Can Starve Massive Black Holes
It was previously thought that collisions between galaxies would necessarily add to the activity of the massive black holes at their centers. However, researchers have…
Black Hole
Massive Stellar Triples Leading to Sequential Binary Black-Hole Mergers
The merger of two black holes in a binary system emits energy that can be detected on Earth by gravitational-wave observatories. The LIGO Scientific Collaboration…
Astronomers Discover Earliest Supermassive Black Hole and Quasar in the Universe – 1000x More Luminous Than the Milky Way
The most distant quasar known has been discovered. The quasar, observed just 670 million years after the Big Bang, is 1000 times more luminous than…
Can We Harness Energy From Black Holes? Columbia Research Shows How Energy Could Be Extracted
A new Columbia study indicates energy can be extracted from black holes through reconnection of magnetic field lines. A remarkable prediction of Einstein’s theory of…
Most Distant Quasar Discovered Sheds Light on How Supermassive Black Holes Grow
Fully formed just 670 million years after the Big Bang and powered by the earliest known supermassive black hole, the quasar provides insight into the…
Deepening Astronomical Mystery: On the Hunt for a Missing Giant Black Hole
Astronomers are searching for signs of a supermassive black hole in the galaxy cluster Abell 2261. Nearly all large galaxies contain central black holes, and…
Supermassive Black Hole’s Dust Ring May Be Casting Shadows From Heart of a Galaxy
Some of the most stunning views of our sky occur at sunset, when sunlight pierces the clouds, creating a mixture of bright and dark rays…
All Dark Matter in the Universe Could Be Primordial Black Holes – Formed From the Collapse of Baby Universes Soon After the Big Bang
The Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU) is home to many interdisciplinary projects which benefit from the synergy of…
Black Holes Discharge the Energy in Their Powerful Plasma Jets Much Farther Away Than Thought
New study determines that black holes discharge the energy in their plasma jets much farther away from the black hole’s center than previously thought, resolving…
Massive Overcontact Binary Stars May Explain Massive Black Hole Merger Puzzle
In 2015, the first direct observation of gravitational waves was made by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (aLIGO) (Abbott et al. 2016). The detected…
Galaxy Survives Black Hole’s Feast – “Goes Against All the Current Scientific Predictions”
The hungriest of black holes are thought to gobble up so much surrounding material they put an end to the life of their host galaxy….
Scientists Catch Supermassive Black Holes Launching Newborn Radio Jets
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory researchers led a team of scientists who discovered some of the youngest known radio jets launched by growing supermassive black holes…
Earth 16,000 MPH Faster, 2000 Light-Years Closer to Supermassive Black Hole in the Center of the Milky Way
Earth just got 7 km/s (~16,000 mph) faster and about 2000 light-years closer to the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way…
Combining Quantum Physics and the Theory of Relativity: Sound-Waves From a Quantum Vacuum at the Black Hole Laboratory
Researchers have developed a new theory for observing a quantum vacuum that could lead to new insights into the behavior of black holes. The Unruh…
Black Hole or No Black Hole: Astrophysics of Neutron Star Collisions
A new study lead by GSI scientists and international colleagues investigates black-hole formation in neutron star mergers. Computer simulations show that the properties of dense…
Wealth of Discoveries From Gravitational-Wave Data Leads to Most Detailed Black Hole “Family Portrait”
New analysis of gravitational-wave data leads to wealth of discoveries. An international research collaboration including Northwestern University astronomers has produced the most detailed family portrait…
Galactic Bars: Feeding a Galaxy’s Nuclear Black Hole
A galactic bar is the approximately linear structure of stars and gas that stretches across the inner regions of some galaxies. The bar stretches from…
Tracing Ripples in the Fabric of Spacetime to Reveal the Origins of Merging Black Holes
Over the past five years, astronomy has been revolutionized as scientists have used ripples in the fabric of spacetime, called gravitational waves, to reveal the…