How Large Can a Black Hole Grow? As Large as 50 Billion Solar Masses
New research from the University of Leicester reveals how large black holes can grow to. Black holes at the heart of galaxies could swell to…
Black Hole News
Astronomers Measure Magnetic Fields at Sagittarius A*
Using the Event Horizon Telescope, astronomers have measured the magnetic fields just outside the event horizon of Sagittarius A* for the first time. Most people…
Astrophysicists Get First Glimpse of a Black Hole Eating a Star and Ejecting a High-Speed Flare
For the first time, a team of astrophysicists has witnessed a black hole swallowing a star and ejecting a flare of matter moving at nearly…
Astronomers Discover a Black Hole That Grew Much Quicker Than Its Host Galaxy
Researchers have discovered a black hole that grew much more quickly than its host galaxy. The discovery calls into question previous assumptions on the development…
Fermi Mission Reveals Hints of Gamma-Ray Cycle in Active Galaxy PG 1553+113
Using NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, a team of astronomers has discovered hints of periodic changes in brightness in blazar PG 1553+113, whose emissions are…
Astronomers Link the Launching of the Corona to a Black Hole Flare
New observations from NASA’s Swift and the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, suggest that supermassive black holes send out beams of X-rays when their surrounding coronas…
ASASSN-14li Provides an Excellent Opportunity to Study the Environment around a Black Hole
Using three X-ray telescopes, astronomers have witnessed stellar debris being blown away after a black hole destroyed the star. This event, dubbed ASASSN-14li, is located…
ESO Image of the Week: A Microlensing Mystery
This newly released image from the European Southern Observatory shows the globular cluster NGC 6553. This spectacular starry field of view shows the globular cluster…
Link Between Accretion Mode and Environment in Radio-Loud Active Galaxies Revealed
A new study from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics reveals evidence that the cluster environment plays an important role in determining the nature of accretion…
New Phoenix Cluster Observations Provide A Fresh Perspective
Astronomers have discovered giant holes, or cavities, in the hot gas that pervades the Phoenix Cluster, revealing new details about this remarkable system. Galaxy clusters…
Cosmic Search Casts Doubts on Our Understanding of Galaxies and Black Holes
After monitoring 24 pulsars with the Parkes Radio Telescope for 11 years, new research casts doubt on our understanding of galaxies and black holes. For…
Astronomers Discover an Oversized Black Hole That is 350 Million Times the Mass of Our Sun
Astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole in galaxy SAGE0536AGN. The black hole is 350 million times the mass of our sun and 30 times…
Sagittarius A* Shows Signs of Increased X-Ray Activity
The Milky Way’s supermassive black hole has revealed some unusual activity, showing an increase in X-ray flares that coincided with the close passage of the…
Synchrotron Emission Will Allow Astronomers to Find Stars That No One Has Seen Before
Astronomers believe that radio waves coming from supersonic stars will help them find stars that no one has seen before. The center of our Milky…
UMD Astronomers Discover a New Mid-size Black Hole in NGC 1313
In a newly published study, astronomers reveal evidence for a new intermediate-mass black hole about 5,000 times the mass of the sun. Nearly all black…
GALEX and the Hubble Reveal New Details on Colliding Black Holes
Using ultraviolet data from GALEX and the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers reveal new details about merging black holes. Entangled by gravity and destined to merge,…
Shocks in a Distant Gamma-Ray Burst Help Reveal Two General Types of GRBs
New research form the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics shows that shocks in a distant gamma-ray burst originated in a supernova. Gamma ray bursts (GRBs)–flashes of…
Hubble Reveals That Markarian 231 is Powered by a Double Black Hole
Using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, a team of astronomers discovered that Markarian 231 is powered by two central black holes furiously whirling about each other….
