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Galaxies hit single, doubles, and triple (growing black holes)

A new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory reveals that three galaxies colliding can lead to triple mergers with growing supermassive black holes. The research found one single, four double, and one triple merger system, shedding light on how these events shape galaxy growth.

SourceCenter for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian·DateJan 14, 2021

Could we harness energy from black holes?

Physicists Luca Comisso and Felipe Asenjo propose a new method to extract energy from rotating black holes by breaking and reconnecting magnetic field lines. This process could accelerate plasma particles to negative energies, allowing for massive amounts of energy extraction with an efficiency of up to 150%.

SourceColumbia University·JournalPhysical Review D·DateJan 13, 2021

The earliest supermassive black hole and quasar in the universe

Astronomers have identified the most distant quasar known, powered by a supermassive black hole weighing over 1.6 billion times the mass of the Sun. The discovery provides insight into the formation of massive galaxies in the early universe and challenges theories of black hole growth.

SourceW. M. Keck Observatory·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal Letters·DateJan 12, 2021

NASA missions help investigate an 'Old Faithful' active galaxy

Astronomers have discovered a distant galaxy that erupts roughly every 114 days, creating a 'cosmic Old Faithful'. Using data from NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, scientists studied repeated outbursts of an event called ASASSN-14ko.

SourceNASA/Goddard Space Flight Center·DateJan 12, 2021
Apple iPhone 17 Pro

Apple iPhone 17 Pro delivers top performance and advanced cameras for field documentation, data collection, and secure research communications.

Most distant quasar discovered sheds light on how black holes grow

Astronomers have observed a luminous quasar 13.03 billion light-years from Earth, providing insight into the formation of massive galaxies in the early universe. The quasar hosts a supermassive black hole equivalent to 1.6 billion suns and shows evidence of an outflowing wind, challenging current models of black hole formation.

SourceUniversity of Arizona·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal Letters·DateJan 12, 2021

Quasar discovery sets new distance record

Astronomers have discovered the most distant quasar yet found, J0313-1806, which is 13 billion light-years away and powered by a supermassive black hole. The discovery provides valuable insights into how massive galaxies and their supermassive black holes formed in the early Universe.

SourceNational Radio Astronomy Observatory·DateJan 12, 2021
SAMSUNG T9 Portable SSD 2TB

SAMSUNG T9 Portable SSD 2TB transfers large imagery and model outputs quickly between field laptops, lab workstations, and secure archives.

Galaxy mergers could limit star formation

A new study by Durham University and colleagues suggests that galaxy mergers could shut down star formation in the early universe, affecting galaxy growth. The researchers observed a massive galaxy, ID2299, which ejected half of its gas into the intergalactic medium due to the merger.

SourceDurham University·JournalNature Astronomy·DateJan 11, 2021

Primordial black holes and the search for dark matter from the multiverse

Researchers at Kavli IPMU propose a novel scenario for primordial black hole formation, suggesting they could account for all or part of dark matter. They also suggest that PBHs could be responsible for some gravitational wave signals and seed supermassive black holes found in the center of our Galaxy.

SourceKavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateDec 25, 2020

Graduate student's BADASS code has astronomical benefits

A graduate student developed an open-source code called BADASS, which provides a way to fit stellar motions simultaneously with other components in astronomical spectra. The code is versatile enough to fit not just active galactic nuclei but also normal galaxies, and can be used for any kind of spectroscopy.

SourceUniversity of California - Riverside·JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society·DateDec 16, 2020
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Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation, USB-C) provide clear calls and strong noise reduction for interviews, conferences, and noisy field environments.

A technique to sift out the universe's first gravitational waves

A team of researchers has developed a method to tease out primordial gravitational waves from gravitational-wave data. The new approach allows for the detection of faint signals that could reveal insights into the early universe's conditions and processes.

SourceMassachusetts Institute of Technology·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateDec 9, 2020

Earth faster, closer to black hole in new map of galaxy

A new study using VERA data has revised Earth's velocity around the Galactic Center from 220 km/s to 227 km/s, making it faster. The revised calculation places Earth approximately 2000 light-years closer to the supermassive black hole at the Galaxy's center.

SourceNational Institutes of Natural Sciences·JournalPublications of the Astronomical Society of Japan·DateNov 30, 2020
Kestrel 3000 Pocket Weather Meter

Kestrel 3000 Pocket Weather Meter measures wind, temperature, and humidity in real time for site assessments, aviation checks, and safety briefings.

Scientists make sound-waves from a quantum vacuum at the Black Hole laboratory

Researchers have developed a new theory for observing the quantum vacuum, which could lead to new insights into black hole behavior. By using sound particles and ultra-cold atoms, they created a two-dimensional cloud where sound waves become audible to an accelerated observer in a silent phonon vacuum.

SourceUniversity of Nottingham·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateNov 23, 2020

VLA sky survey reveals newborn jets in distant galaxies

Astronomers have found distant galaxies with supermassive black holes that launched powerful radio-emitting jets within the past two decades. The study used data from the VLA Sky Survey and compared it with earlier surveys to identify these new jets.

SourceNational Radio Astronomy Observatory·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal·DateNov 19, 2020
Meta Quest 3 512GB

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Final dance of unequal black hole partners

Researchers use advanced simulation to model large mass ratio black hole merger, predicting characteristics of ultimate merged black hole and its speed. The simulation's success could help plan future gravitational wave detectors and answer mysteries about black holes.

SourceUniversity of Texas at Austin, Texas Advanced Computing Center·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateNov 6, 2020

Black hole 'family portrait' is most detailed to date

A team of scientists has created the most detailed family portrait of black holes to date, analyzing gravitational-wave data from LIGO and Virgo detectors. The study reveals new clues about black hole formation and tests Einstein's theory of general relativity, passing all tests with flying colors.

SourceNorthwestern University·DateOct 28, 2020
GoPro HERO13 Black

GoPro HERO13 Black records stabilized 5.3K video for instrument deployments, field notes, and outreach, even in harsh weather and underwater conditions.

The black hole always chirps twice: New clues deciphering the shape of black holes

Research reveals black holes emit complex signals when observed from their equator, indicating a unique relation between gravitational waves and black hole behavior. The team discovered that the final black hole's cusp emits more intense gravitational waves, producing multiple 'chirps' as it settles to its final form.

SourceThe Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery·JournalCommunications Physics·DateOct 8, 2020

Black hole shadow puts general relativity to the test

Researchers from the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration used the first horizon-scale image of a black hole to test general relativity, deepening understanding of black holes and ruling out many alternatives. The study found that the size of the black hole shadow corroborates the predictions of general relativity.

SourceInstitute for Advanced Study·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateOct 1, 2020

Einstein's description of gravity just got much harder to beat

Researchers used black hole images to test Einstein's general relativity, identifying modifications that cannot be significantly different from the theory. The new analysis provides a tighter gauge for testing gravity theories, constraining deviations from general relativity even further.

SourceUniversity of Arizona·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateOct 1, 2020
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro)

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro) powers local ML workloads, large datasets, and multi-display analysis for field and lab teams.

Insight-HXMT discovers closest high-speed jet to black hole

The satellite detected a low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) above 200 keV in a black hole binary, indicating the presence of a relativistic jet near the event horizon. The discovery resolves the long-running debate on the physical origin of low-frequency QPOs.

SourceChinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters·JournalNature Astronomy·DateSep 21, 2020

Cosmic X-rays reveal an indubitable signature of black holes

Astrophysicists identify distinctive signatures of stellar-mass black holes in archival X-ray data, separating them from neutron stars. This is the strongest steady signature of stellar-mass black holes to date.

SourceTata Institute of Fundamental Research·JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society·DateSep 21, 2020

How to have a blast like a black hole

Researchers at Osaka University used powerful lasers to recreate relativistic magnetic reconnection, a process responsible for X-ray emissions from black holes. This study may help explain the mysterious X-rays emitted by some celestial bodies.

SourceOsaka University·JournalPhysical Review E·DateSep 7, 2020
AmScope B120C-5M Compound Microscope

AmScope B120C-5M Compound Microscope supports teaching labs and QA checks with LED illumination, mechanical stage, and included 5MP camera.

Scientists detect first-of-its-kind 'intermediate-mass' black hole

Researchers have discovered the first intermediate-mass black hole, which has a mass of 142 solar masses. The cosmic event was detected as a brief gravitational wave signal, lasting less than one-tenth of a second, and is believed to have occurred roughly 7 billion years ago.

SourceNorthwestern University·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateSep 2, 2020

A 'bang' in LIGO and Virgo detectors signals most massive gravitational-wave source yet

Researchers have detected a signal from the most massive black hole merger observed in gravitational waves, producing an 'intermediate-mass' black hole with a mass of up to 1,000 solar masses. The merger released energy equivalent to eight suns and has raised questions about the formation of such massive black holes.

SourceMassachusetts Institute of Technology·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateSep 2, 2020

An unexpected origin story for a lopsided black hole merger

Researchers suggest a novel process to explain the collision of a large black hole and a much smaller one, proposing that the more massive black hole was a product of a prior merger. This 'hierarchical' merging could generate a merger with a high mass ratio and spin.

SourceMassachusetts Institute of Technology·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateSep 2, 2020
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm)

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm) tracks health metrics and safety alerts during long observing sessions, fieldwork, and remote expeditions.

Can black hole fire up cold heart of the phoenix?

The discovery of radio jets in the Phoenix Galaxy Cluster suggests that a supermassive black hole is actively heating intra-cluster gas, preventing star formation. This finding has significant implications for our understanding of galaxy evolution and coevolution.

SourceNational Institutes of Natural Sciences·JournalPublications of the Astronomical Society of Japan·DateAug 31, 2020

Spinning black hole powers jet by magnetic flux

A massive spinning black hole powers a plasma jet through magnetic reconnection, releasing energy in 'mini-jets' that produce high-energy gamma radiation. This phenomenon explains how the energy reaches the jet's core from the black hole and ultimately originates from its rotation.

SourceUniversity of Würzburg·JournalNature Communications·DateAug 21, 2020

NASA's Webb to study quasars and their host galaxies in three dimensions

The Q3D team will study three bright quasars to measure the activity that comes from accreting material onto supermassive black holes, revealing how it affects host galaxies. The study aims to understand the relationship between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies by analyzing gas motions in nearby and distant galaxies.

SourceNASA/Goddard Space Flight Center·DateAug 19, 2020
DJI Air 3 (RC-N2)

DJI Air 3 (RC-N2) captures 4K mapping passes and environmental surveys with dual cameras, long flight time, and omnidirectional obstacle sensing.

Mystery gas discovered near center of Milky Way

Researchers have discovered a dense, cold gas ejected from the centre of the Milky Way, which could impact star formation and galaxy stability. The finding raises new questions about what's happening in the galactic centre, particularly with regards to the massive black hole at its heart.

SourceAustralian National University·JournalNature·DateAug 19, 2020

Strange gamma-ray heartbeat puzzles scientists

Scientists have detected a mysterious gamma-ray heartbeat from a cosmic gas cloud in the constellation Aquila, powered by a neighbouring precessing black hole. The research team analysed over ten years of data from NASA's Fermi gamma-ray space telescope, revealing a consistent period between the cloud's emission and the black hole's jets.

SourceDeutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY·JournalNature Astronomy·DateAug 17, 2020

Arecibo Observatory data help lead to discovery of cosmic 'heartbeat'

A team of researchers used Arecibo Observatory data and NASA's Fermi Large Area Space Telescope to detect a gamma-ray heartbeat coming from a cosmic gas cloud. The 'heartbeat' rhythm matches the precession of a black hole's jets, suggesting that the cloud's emission is powered by the microquasar.

SourceUniversity of Central Florida·JournalNature Astronomy·DateAug 17, 2020

Unequal neutron-star mergers create unique "bang" in simulations

A team of researchers found that unequal neutron-star mergers can create an electromagnetic signal, which could be detected using gravitational-wave detectors like LIGO. The simulations revealed that the larger star tears apart its partner, creating a slower merger and allowing an 'electromagnetic bang' to escape.

SourcePenn State·JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society·DateAug 3, 2020

Quantum physicists crack mystery of 'strange metals,' a new state of matter

Researchers at the Flatiron Institute and Cornell University developed a robust theoretical model of strange metals, revealing their existence as a new state of matter. The model shows that strange metals exhibit properties linked to temperature and fundamental constants, with surprising connections to black holes and high-temperature ...

SourceSimons Foundation·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·DateJul 23, 2020
Rigol DP832 Triple-Output Bench Power Supply

Rigol DP832 Triple-Output Bench Power Supply powers sensors, microcontrollers, and test circuits with programmable rails and stable outputs.

Quantum simulation: Particle behavior near the event horizon of block hole

Researchers used femtosecond laser direct write technology to simulate curved space-time near a black hole. They observed accelerated single-photon wave packets and fermion pairs escaping the black hole, mimicking Hawking radiation. This experiment demonstrates the potential for quantum simulation in studying general relativity.

SourceScience China Press·JournalNational Science Review·DateJul 16, 2020

In a first, astronomers watch a black hole's corona disappear, then reappear

Researchers at MIT watched as a supermassive black hole's corona was abruptly destroyed, causing its brightness to drop by a factor of 10,000 in under a year. The corona eventually rebuilt itself, sparking hopes for understanding how black holes' coronas are heated and powered.

SourceMassachusetts Institute of Technology·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal Letters·DateJul 15, 2020

Breakthrough in deciphering birth of supermassive black holes

Astronomers have discovered one of the lowest-mass supermassive black holes (SMBHs) ever observed, weighing less than a million times the mass of our Sun. The finding provides a major step in understanding how SMBHs are formed and challenges the long-held assumption that they were born with extremely large masses.

SourceCardiff University·JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society·DateJul 13, 2020
Nikon Monarch 5 8x42 Binoculars

Nikon Monarch 5 8x42 Binoculars deliver bright, sharp views for wildlife surveys, eclipse chases, and quick star-field scans at dark sites.

To find giant black holes, start with Jupiter

Researchers are using Jupiter's mass and orbit to help locate the center of gravity of the solar system, which can signal the presence of massive black holes. By analyzing changes in pulsar timing, they aim to detect gravitational waves that warp space-time.

SourceVanderbilt University·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal·DateJun 30, 2020

Excess neutrinos and missing gamma rays?

Researchers at Penn State suggest that supermassive black hole coronae could be the source of high-energy cosmic neutrinos, exceeding expectations. The new model predicts electromagnetic counterparts in soft gamma-rays, with next-generation detectors poised to explore this possibility.

SourcePenn State·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateJun 30, 2020

Beacon from the early universe

The discovery of Po?niua??ena, the second-most distant quasar, sheds light on the formation of massive black holes and galaxies in the young universe. The quasar's existence challenges current theories, requiring a new mechanism to explain its massive size formed so early in the universe's history.

SourceUniversity of California - Santa Barbara·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal Letters·DateJun 26, 2020
Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro Equatorial Mount

Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro Equatorial Mount provides precise tracking capacity for deep-sky imaging rigs during long astrophotography sessions.

Most massive quasar known in early universe discovered on Maunakea

Astronomers have discovered the second-most distant quasar, Pōniuā`ena, powered by a supermassive black hole 1.5 billion times more massive than our Sun. The discovery challenges current theories of how these massive black holes formed and grew in the young universe.

SourceW. M. Keck Observatory·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal Letters·DateJun 25, 2020

Black hole collision may have exploded with light

Astronomers have spotted evidence of a light-producing scenario during a black hole merger, with the flare likely resulting from the reaction of gas to the merging black holes. The event, observed by ZTF and other telescopes, provides insights into the behavior of supermassive black holes.

SourceAdvanced Science Research Center, GC/CUNY·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateJun 25, 2020

Monster black hole found in the early universe

Astronomers have discovered the second most distant quasar, Pōniuāʻena, containing a monster black hole twice the mass of other quasars at the same epoch. The discovery presents significant challenges to current theories on supermassive black hole formation and growth in the early universe.

SourceAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)·DateJun 25, 2020
Sony Alpha a7 IV (Body Only)

Sony Alpha a7 IV (Body Only) delivers reliable low-light performance and rugged build for astrophotography, lab documentation, and field expeditions.

LIGO-Virgo finds mystery object in 'mass gap'

Scientists have detected an object of 2.6 solar masses, firmly placing it within the 'mass gap' between neutron stars and black holes. The discovery was made using LIGO and Virgo detectors and may challenge current theoretical models.

SourceCalifornia Institute of Technology·DateJun 23, 2020

Australian scientists reveal a lost 8 billion light years of universe evolution

Researchers have developed a method to detect the presence of weak gravitational wave events, revealing a lost 8 billion light years of universe evolution. This breakthrough will allow scientists to observe farther away in space-time and gain insights into the early universe's structure.

SourceThe Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery·JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society·DateJun 18, 2020