Articles tagged with Black Holes
Astronomers discover that the 'afterglow' of a fast radio burst was actually a persistent radio source from a supermassive black hole. The discovery resolves the mystery of the black hole's behavior, which varies randomly due to scintillation and changes in matter consumption.
Astronomers used Hubble to study the Milky Way's nuclear star cluster, discovering a rich tapestry of over half a million stars. The cluster surrounds the galaxy's central supermassive black hole and offers insights into its formation.
Researchers at Osaka University have simulated the formation of supermassive black holes, revealing that they are seeded by clouds of gas falling into potential wells created by dark matter. The simulations found a central seed particle growing rapidly to form a supermassive black hole, accompanied by misaligned accretion discs.
Researchers at York University have detected the fastest winds ever seen near a supermassive black hole, with speeds reaching 200 million km/h. This discovery sheds light on quasar winds' role in galaxy formation and their impact on star creation.
A team of researchers has found evidence for a particle accelerator in the center of the Milky Way that can accelerate protons to petaelectronvolt energies. The discovery sheds new light on the origin of galactic cosmic rays and challenges existing theories.
Astronomers have discovered the fastest ultraviolet winds ever seen near a supermassive black hole, with wind speeds of over 200 million miles per hour. This breakthrough study sheds light on quasar outflows and their role in galaxy formation.
Researchers accurately measured the rotational rate of an 18 billion solar mass supermassive black hole, one-third of the maximum spin rate allowed in General Relativity. The binary black hole model reveals a smaller companion orbiting around it, affecting accretion disk behavior.
Researchers suggest that twin black holes detected by LIGO might have formed inside a single, massive star. The star's death generated a gamma-ray burst, which was observed by the Fermi Space Telescope.
RIT researchers are investigating properties of binary black hole mergers and inferring the rate of such mergers based on their implications for the gravitational wave background. They aim to detect a range of signals from unexplained bursts to a background 'hum' from the distant universe.
Researchers simulated a thin ring-shaped black hole in five dimensions, which breaks down Einstein's general theory of relativity if it exists outside an event horizon. The simulation revealed the formation of a 'naked singularity', causing laws of physics to break down and potentially rendering general relativity ineffective.
Scientists have observed ripples in spacetime, called gravitational waves, arriving from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe. This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, providing information about gravity and its nature.
A research team led by GGC physicist Lior Burko simulated a rotating black hole for the first time, revealing that objects can stay intact as they approach the center. The simulation supports popular science fiction scenarios where black holes are used as portals for hyperspace travel.
Researchers at Harvard have advanced graphene's understanding by observing electrons behaving like a fluid, defying classical physics expectations. The findings pave the way for novel thermoelectric devices and provide a model system to explore exotic phenomena.
Scientists observed ripples in spacetime called gravitational waves from colliding black holes, confirming a major prediction of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity. The detected waves were produced during the merger of two black holes, with masses about 29 and 36 times that of the sun.
Rochester Institute of Technology researchers' 2005 breakthrough prediction of gravitational waves has been confirmed by LIGO. Their work introduced a revolutionary new way to understand the universe through gravitational wave astronomy, opening up frontiers in the field.
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) has detected ripples in space-time, also known as gravitational waves, for the first time on Earth. This breakthrough opens a new window into the universe and revolutionizes our understanding of violent cosmic events.
ASTRO-H will observe X-ray sources like galaxy clusters and neutron stars up to 10 times fainter than its predecessor Suzaku. The observatory uses four co-aligned focusing X-ray telescopes and cutting-edge instruments to provide simultaneous coverage across its entire energy range.
A team of astronomers has detected a gas cloud with a wide velocity dispersion, suggesting the presence of an intermediate mass black hole. The cloud's elliptical shape and composition indicate a compact but low-density component and a dense component extending 10 light years.
Astronomers discovered a distant quasar that has apparently run out of gas, leading to a significant decrease in its brightness. The quasar, SDSS J1011+5442, was found to have consumed all the glowing-hot gas in its vicinity, causing it to dim drastically.
A Kyoto-led team reports that black hole activity can be observed through visible light during outbursts, and that optical rays provide reliable data for black hole activity. The study used a 20 cm telescope to observe V404 Cygni, detecting repetitive patterns with timescales of several minutes to a few hours.
A UTSA-led team detected a powerful galactic blast from a nearby supermassive black hole using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. The research found that the black hole's outbursts have impacted the surrounding galaxy, triggering the formation of new stars and affecting the climate.
Researchers at the University of Leicester suggest that supermassive black holes can grow up to 50 billion solar masses before their gas discs collapse, starving them of fuel. Without a disc, the black hole would stop growing, marking a significant limit on its size.
Researchers have discovered that the disks of gas and dust surrounding massive black holes are 'clumpy,' not smooth. The observations were made using NASA's NuSTAR and European Space Agency's XMM-Newton space observatory.
Astronomers observed gamma rays from PKS 1441+25, a blazar galaxy 7 billion years away. The high-energy light revealed a single region far from the power source, contradicting previous assumptions.
The VERITAS telescope detected powerful gamma rays from a distant galaxy, PKS 1441+25, revealing details about the black hole engine at its center. The gamma-ray emission was found to be located within the relativistic jet, but surprisingly far from the black hole, and is estimated to be around 5 light-years away.
Researchers detected gamma rays from a rare blazar galaxy, PKS 1441+25, 7.6 billion light-years away, setting new bounds on the extragalactic background light. The observations provide clues to the production of high-energy gamma rays and their interaction with the surrounding environment.
Astronomers measured the density of photon fog between Earth and quasar PKS 1441+25 using high-energy gamma rays. The data validated theoretical models for the number and brightness of stars and galaxies in the universe going back 7.6 billion years.
The LAXPC instrument has observed various astrophysical objects, including Black hole X-ray binaries, Microquasars, and Supernova remnants. Its large detection volume and efficient xenon gas filling result in high detection efficiency above 30 keV.
The Event Horizon Telescope detected magnetic fields near the event horizon of the Milky Way's central black hole, Sgr A*, for the first time. The findings suggest that these magnetic fields are disordered in some regions and organized in others, possibly related to jet generation.
Researchers have discovered high levels of polarization in radio emissions from Sagittarius A*, providing proof that strong horizon-scale magnetic fields exist. This finding has significant implications for our understanding of black hole growth and the nature of gravity.
Researchers analyzed 700 hours of archival data to discover a burst of radio waves from six billion light years away. The region of space it came from was highly magnetized, suggesting it could be related to a supernova or nebula forming new stars.
An international team of astrophysicists led by Johns Hopkins University scientist Sjoert van Velzen witnessed a star being destroyed by a supermassive black hole, ejecting a jet of plasma at nearly the speed of light. The team observed this event over several months using multi-wavelength telescopes and satellites.
A team of scientists has discovered a hungry black hole swallowing a star at the centre of a nearby galaxy. The discovery confirms their theories about the nature of black holes and reveals faint jets of material shooting out from the supermassive black hole.
Researchers predict a physical effect that would help physicists and astronomers test Einstein's general theory of relativity. The gravitational Faraday effect, first predicted in the 1950s, theorizes that light polarization rotates according to Einstein's theory when traveling close to a spinning black hole.
Swift has detected over 1,000 gamma-ray bursts, providing valuable insights into extreme physical processes. The most distant GRB recorded by Swift is from over 12 billion years ago, offering new opportunities to investigate how these events are distributed across space and time.
Researchers observe closest tidal disruption event in nearly a decade, gaining new understanding of black hole effects on nearby stars. The study reveals details about the formation of an accretion disk and the expulsion of gas from the black hole.
Researchers discovered a previously unknown link between young star growth and black hole feeding habits, revealing the universality of accretion physics. The study found that young stellar objects' flickering light is similar to that of black holes and white dwarfs, supporting the idea that accretion is a universal process.
Sir Roger Penrose's 1965 theorem associates black holes with trapped surfaces that shrink over time. The theory also predicts the existence of singularities in extreme conditions, highlighting the limitations of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.
Scientists used Parkes telescope for 11 years to detect gravitational waves but found nothing, suggesting that black holes may merge quickly without generating waves. The lack of detection has implications for astronomers who want to use pulsar timing techniques to spot gravitational waves.
Astronomers reanalyzed archival data to find only 11 galaxies with 'genuine' mergers, leading to a lower estimated rate of galaxy mergers and potentially fewer supermassive black hole pairs. This reduces the level of expected gravitational waves from X-shaped radio galaxies.
A team of astronomers at the University of Maryland and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has found evidence for a new intermediate-mass black hole about 5,000 times the mass of the sun. The discovery adds to the list of potential medium-sized black holes and strengthens the case for their existence.
Astronomers at Columbia University provide evidence of a pair of supermassive black holes converging towards a collision. They predict the smashup will occur in 100,000 years, offering insights into black hole growth and space-time vibrations.
A team of astronomers discovered 48 Dust Obscured Galaxies (DOGs) using the Hyper Suprime-Cam instrument on the Subaru Telescope. These rare galaxies are thought to harbor rapidly growing black holes, providing insights into the co-evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes.
Scientists use archived data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to study 13 unusual exploding stars, known as supernovae. These young stars were ejected from their galaxies at high speeds, and astronomers believe that supermassive black holes in merging galaxies played a key role in their ejection.
A new study suggests that rogue supernovas that explode in deep space were likely kicked out of their galaxies at high speeds and then ejected into space by the gravitational pull of a binary black hole. The study, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, used data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to trace 13 h...
Astronomers have discovered a self-regulating cycle between black holes, jets, and newborn stars in giant elliptical galaxies. The process, observed using Hubble Space Telescope data, controls the rate of star formation by heating and cooling gas halos around these galaxies.
Researchers discovered neutron stars can accelerate material to nearly light speed, rivaling black holes. This finding contradicts previous theories about neutron star behavior.
A recent study suggests that dense star clusters in the universe could be 'factories' of binary black holes. Researchers predict that advanced observatories will detect over 100 merging black holes per year from these clusters.
Astronomers observed a record-setting flare from the blazar galaxy 3C 279, which became four times brighter than the brightest persistent source in the gamma-ray sky. The rapid fading of the flare was detected by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and other satellites.
Astronomers have found a super-sized black hole in the early universe that grew faster than its host galaxy, challenging previous observations. The massive black hole, measuring 7 billion solar masses, is located in galaxy CID-947 and has a mass similar to that of a typical galaxy.
A team of researchers discovered a massive black hole with nearly 7 billion solar masses in an otherwise normal, distant galaxy called CID-947. The finding contradicts previous theories on the co-evolution of galaxies and their central black holes.
Astronomers using NASA's Swift satellite have discovered concentric X-ray rings centered on a black hole, which form due to the 'echo' effect of light traveling through dust layers. The findings provide insights into the normally invisible interstellar dust and allow for better understanding of the black hole's behavior.
Researchers have localized the origin of high-energy gamma radiation in a jet emanating from a distant supermassive black hole. The discovery was made possible by a micro-gravitational lens effect that selectively amplifies light from different regions close to the event horizon.
Astronomers detected high-energy x-rays from five previously clouded supermassive black holes, supporting the theory of millions more existing but hidden from view. The research uses NuSTAR to study nine candidate black holes, confirming five were obscured by dust and gas.
Astronomers monitor the outburst of V404 Cygni, a black hole firing up in an X-ray nova. The data collected will help determine the type of object at its heart, providing insights into these rare events.
Researchers found strong outflows in ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs), suggesting smaller black holes than expected. The team's observations shed light on ULXs and their impact on our understanding of supermassive black hole formation.
A new NASA simulation reveals that dark matter particles colliding in a black hole can produce strong, potentially observable gamma-ray light. This detection could provide new insights into both black holes and the nature of dark matter.
Astronomers use Hubble Space Telescope to uncover the early formative years of quasars, finding that galaxy collisions and mergers drive their peak activity. The observations reveal the transitional phase in the merger-driven black hole scenario, providing new insights into the universe's brightest objects.
Astronomers using ALMA measured the mass of a supermassive black hole at the center of NGC 1097, a barred spiral galaxy 45 million light-years away. The black hole was found to be 140 million times more massive than our Sun.
The detection of a supermassive black hole at the center of Messier 32, a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy, reveals a 'quiescent' black hole with activity among the weakest yet found. The VLA's improved sensitivity allowed for the detection of radio emission from the black hole, which is roughly 90 times fainter than previous studies.