black holes

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This Is the Fastest-Growing Black Hole Ever Discovered

'This quasar is the most violent place that we know in the universe,' says lead scientist

(Newser) - Astronomers have discovered what may be the brightest object in the universe, a quasar with a black hole at its heart growing so fast that it swallows the equivalent of a sun a day. As the AP reports, the record-breaking quasar shines 500 trillion times brighter than our sun. The...

'Cosmic Beast' in Night Sky Blows Our Black Hole Away

Oldest black hole ever discovered formed just 470M years after the Big Bang

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered the oldest black hole yet, a cosmic beast formed a mere 470 million years after the Big Bang. The findings, published Monday, confirm what until now were theories that supermassive black holes existed at the dawn of the universe, per the AP . NASA's James Webb Space...

Webb Telescope Spots Farthest Black Hole Yet

Other discoveries closer to the Big Bang are under review

(Newser) - Astronomers have discovered the most distant black hole yet using the Webb Space Telescope, but the record isn't expected to last. The black hole is at the center of a galaxy dating to within a mere 570 million years of the Big Bang. That's 100 million years closer...

Astronomers 'Hear' Black Hole Collisions
Astronomers 'Hear'
Black Hole Collisions
new study
Jun 29, 2023 7:55 AM CDT

Astronomers 'Hear' Black Hole Collisions

Major discovery seems to affirm a theory of Albert Einstein

(Newser) - Scientists have observed for the first time the faint ripples caused by the motion of black holes that are gently stretching and squeezing everything in the universe, per the AP . They reported Wednesday that they were able to "hear" what are called low-frequency gravitational waves—changes in the fabric...

NASA: This Is What a Black Hole Sounds Like

Sound from Perseus galaxy cluster is pretty spooky, listeners say

(Newser) - Sound does exist in space, NASA says—and some of it is pretty spooky. NASA's exoplanets team tweeted a 34-second clip of the sound of a black hole Sunday, saying that while sound waves can't travel in a vacuum, a "galaxy cluster has so much gas that...

Our 'Nearest Black Hole' Isn't a Black Hole at All
Our 'Nearest Black Hole'
Isn't a Black Hole at All
NEW STUDY
Mar 2, 2022 12:37 PM CST

Our 'Nearest Black Hole' Isn't a Black Hole at All

New research indicates 'vampire' star is feeding on its neighbor

(Newser) - European astronomers have put out something of a retraction: that black hole said to be the closest to Earth ever found —well, it doesn't exist. They're not too bothered, however. European Southern Observatory emeritus astronomer Dietrich Baade, co-author of the new research, says their error led to...

Black Hole Seen Swallowing Densest Object in Universe

That would be a neutron star

(Newser) - Talk about a heavy snack. For the first time, astronomers have witnessed a black hole swallowing a neutron star, the most dense object in the universe—all in a split-second gulp. Ten days later they saw the same thing, on the other side of the universe, the AP reports. In...

'Warm' Spots in Space Might Blow Your Mind
'The Big Bang Was
Not the Beginning'
in case you missed it
Oct 11, 2020 10:00 AM CDT

'The Big Bang Was Not the Beginning'

Roger Penrose says he's spotted signs from a previous universe

(Newser) - Look carefully into outer space and you might spot the remnants of a previous universe. So argues Roger Penrose, a pioneer in the study of black holes and one of three recipients of this year's Nobel Prize for Physics. "The Big Bang was not the beginning," he...

Among Nobel Winners: Guy Who Proved Einstein Wrong

Physics honor will be split between 3 scientists for their work on black holes

(Newser) - Three physicists have won this year’s Nobel Prize in physics for black hole discoveries and will split the $1.1 million award. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Tuesday that Briton Roger Penrose will receive half of this year's prize "for the discovery that black hole...

This Black Hole Can't Exist. And There It Is

LB-1 is way more massive than other stellar black holes in our galaxy

(Newser) - A stellar black hole, 70 times the mass of our sun? Not likely, experts said—and yet, there it is. A group of Chinese-led scientists have spotted this "monster" black hole some 15,000 light-years away and dubbed it LB-1, the Washington Post reports. "Black holes of such...

Black Holes Aren't All What We Thought
Black Holes Contain
a Mysterious Force
new study
Oct 5, 2019 1:30 PM CDT

Black Holes Contain a Mysterious Force

Some of them are helping the universe expand, study says

(Newser) - Black holes are dense singularities that suck up matter, right? Not always, according to two scientists who say some black holes are likely objects filled with a mysterious energy. In Astrophysical Journal , Kevin Croker and Joel Weiner argue that the expansion of the universe—which is accelerating, apparently due to...

No One's Ever Seen a Black Hole Pic. That May Change
We May Soon See Something
'No Human Has Ever Seen'
in case you missed it
Apr 7, 2019 3:52 PM CDT

We May Soon See Something 'No Human Has Ever Seen'

Scientists may reveal photo of Sagittarius A* black hole in Milky Way

(Newser) - Mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 10: You won't want to miss the chance to possibly see "something no human has ever seen before." That's how Popular Mechanics is framing the big reveal scientists are expected to make—a photo of Sagittarius A*, a black hole...

Earth to $273M Satellite: What Happened to You?

Japan tries reconnecting with Hitomi

(Newser) - Japan has sort of lost something—a $273M satellite just launched to monitor X-rays coming from galaxy clusters and black holes, Discovery News reports. "We're taking the situation seriously," says Saku Tsuneta, a senior official at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). "We know approximately where...

Hawking: 'Black Holes Ain't as Black as Painted'

Physicist claims to have solved the information paradox

(Newser) - "If you feel you are in a black hole, don't give up. There's a way out." So says Stephen Hawking in claiming to have resolved the so-called information paradox—the seemingly irreconcilable problem of two well-accepted tenets involving black holes. Quantum mechanics dictates that the information...

Professor: I've Got Proof Black Holes Don't Exist
Professor: I've Got Proof Black Holes Don't Exist
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 28, 2014 7:03 AM CDT

Professor: I've Got Proof Black Holes Don't Exist

Math just doesn't add up, argues UNC physicist

(Newser) - Massive stars don't just fade away, they collapse into black holes, right? Even non-scientists have at least a vague notion of these mysterious forces of nature out there in deep space. Well, sorry to spoil everybody's fun, but a physics professor at the University of North Carolina says...

Coming Soon: First-Ever Picture of a Black Hole

It will take an array of 50 telescopes to spot its shadow

(Newser) - How do you photograph a black hole, which is normally invisible due to the fact that its gravity is so intense it pulls in even light ? You probably won't be surprised to hear that it's never been done before—and that to do it for the first...

Mathematician Hawking 'Very Ill'
 Mathematician Hawking 'Very Ill' 
Apr 20, 2009 10:38 AM CDT

Mathematician Hawking 'Very Ill'

(Newser) - Cambridge University says famed mathematician Stephen Hawking was rushed to the hospital today and is "very ill." The university said Hawking had been fighting a chest infection for several weeks. Hawking, 67, gained fame for his work on black holes, and has remained active despite being stricken with...

17 Stories