Articles tagged with Black Holes
Astronomers found a supermassive black hole actively heating and blasting gas in the galaxy J1430+1339, transforming it into an elliptical-type galaxy devoid of gas. The VLA observations revealed powerful jets and winds that remove or destroy raw material needed for star formation.
Researchers designed an X-ray polarimeter, X-Calibur, to study high-energy processes near black holes. The instrument measures X-ray polarization properties to study extreme objects in the Universe.
The discovery of enormous radiation bubbles in the Milky Way's center may hold clues to understanding the galaxy's past and potentially revealing dark matter. Studies of these Fermi bubbles could offer insight into the history of our galaxy, including the activity of its black hole.
Researchers found black holes exist in gravitational theories with broken Lorentz invariance due to universal horizons, which prevent infinite speeds. Universal horizons act like cosmic boundaries that particles can move around but cannot escape, resolving a long-standing paradox.
A team of scientists has developed a new way to measure precise distances to galaxies tens of millions of light years away, using the W. M. Keck Observatory. By measuring the physical size of a dusty ring around supermassive black holes, they calculated the distance to the galaxy NGC 4151 with only 10% uncertainty. This method has the ...
Using supermassive black holes to measure cosmic distances provides precise distance measurements, removing uncertainty in calculating their mass. The new method shows that supermassive black holes are 40% heavier than previously estimated, fundamentally changing determinations of black hole masses.
Researchers at Cardiff University are exploring a new method to detect the origins of gamma-ray bursts using giant space 'microphones' that can pick up gravitational waves created by black holes. By analyzing these waves, scientists may uncover information about the mass and collision history of star and black hole systems.
Researchers analyzing decades of observations detect an unusual source of light in a galaxy, with properties suggesting it could be a supermassive black hole ejected from its home galaxy. Alternatively, the object might have been a rare type of star known as a Luminous Blue Variable that underwent prolonged eruptions.
Researchers have identified an enigmatic object named SDSS1133, which could be a recoiling black hole ejected from its parent galaxy. The discovery, made using high-precision equipment and observations with the Hubble Space Telescope, presents a unique opportunity to study gravitational waves and their detection.
Researchers at Cardiff University have built a theoretical model to predict potential gravitational-wave signals from black hole collisions. The model aims to help scientists identify the correct waveforms and reveal secrets about how black holes orbit and collide.
Astronomers find compact, young galaxies shut down their prodigious star production due to a lack of cool dense gas, rather than supermassive black holes. The energy from the star formation itself creates a shortage of gas within the galaxy.
A team led by Andrea Ghez determined that G2 is most likely a pair of binary stars that had been orbiting the black hole in tandem and merged together into an extremely large star. The research suggests that many of the stars at the center of the galaxy are massive and mostly binaries.
Astronomers have discovered a pulsar that emits an incredible amount of energy, shining brighter than previously thought possible. This find challenges the previous assumption that ultra-luminous X-ray sources are likely black holes.
Astronomers at Ohio State University have observed a star narrowly escaping capture by a supermassive black hole, releasing only a small portion of its mass. The event, known as a tidal disruption event (TDE), provides valuable insights into the growth and behavior of black holes in the universe.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that massive black holes can block the formation of new stars in mature galaxies. The study suggests that these jets of radio-frequency feedback streaming from central black holes prevent hot gas from cooling and collapsing into baby stars.
Researchers analyzed images from the Russian spacecraft RadioAstron and found small spots in the overall image, which they call substructure. This phenomenon can be used to infer the actual size of the underlying source, including the black hole's emission region.
Astronomers have discovered a pulsating, dead star beaming with the energy of about 10 million suns. Pulsars are dense stellar remnants leftover from supernovas, and this one is the brightest ever recorded.
Astronomers discovered a black hole named P13 that is consuming gas from a nearby star 10 times faster than previously thought possible. The black hole is ingesting a weight equivalent to 100 billion billion hot dogs every minute.
Astronomers using NASA's NuSTAR telescope have discovered a pulsar in the Cigar Galaxy, emitting energy about 100 times brighter than predicted. This finding challenges long-held assumptions about ultraluminous X-ray sources and may lead to re-evaluation of other objects previously thought to be black holes.
Researchers have found that stars that oscillate at the same frequency as gravitational waves can absorb energy from those waves and brighten temporarily. This effect could provide scientists with another method to indirectly detect gravitational waves.
Researchers found a tiny galaxy, M60-UCD1, hosting a supermassive black hole with a mass of 21 million suns. The discovery suggests many ultracompact dwarf galaxies may contain huge black holes. The team used Gemini North and Hubble Space Telescope observations to estimate the black hole's mass.
Astronomers used Hubble and ground observations to find the M60-UCD1 dwarf galaxy containing a massive black hole. The discovery suggests compact galaxies may be remnants of larger galaxies torn apart during collisions.
Astronomers using Hubble have found the smallest known galaxy with a supermassive black hole at its center. The galaxy, M60-UCD1, has a diameter of just 300 light-years and contains 140 million stars, yet it harbors a massive black hole weighing five times that of the Milky Way's central black hole.
Researchers have found a supermassive black hole at the center of an ultra-compact galaxy, M60-UCD1, with a mass of 21 million suns. This discovery suggests that these massive black holes are more common in less-massive galaxies than previously thought.
New research from Carnegie Institution solves a 20-year puzzle in quasar research by demonstrating that the Eddington ratio is the driving force behind the main sequence of quasars. The study also reveals the importance of an astronomer's line-of-sight orientation in observing fast-moving gas innermost to the black hole.
Researchers have identified an unusual midsize black hole called M82 X-1, measuring around 400 solar masses. The study analyzed six years of RXTE data to detect specific changes in brightness that helped determine the object's mass.
Astronomers have accurately measured a rare black hole about 400 times the mass of our sun in a galaxy 12 million light years from Earth. The finding confirms the existence of intermediate-mass black holes, which were previously disputed due to lack of data.
Researchers propose a solution for the rapid growth of ancient quasars, where small black holes zigzagged through dense gas streams, pulling in material and feeding on it rapidly. This mechanism allowed the black holes to grow at an exponential rate, eventually leading to massive growth rates.
Researchers from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have reported detecting three possible occasions of star destruction by supermassive black holes at galaxy centers. Using data from X-ray orbiting observatories ROSAT and XMM-Newton, they identified three X-ray sources with significant dimming, suggesting the death of a star i...
Astronomers have discovered three closely orbiting supermassive black holes in a galaxy over four billion light years away. The system's tight configuration suggests that these closely-packed black holes are far more common than previously thought.
Researchers detected a clumpy gas stream flowing quickly outwards and blocking X-rays emitted by the supermassive black hole. The discovery provides direct evidence for the shielding process that accelerates powerful gas streams, offering insights into how black holes interact with their host galaxies.
An international team discovered that black hole outflows obscure observations and x-rays, shedding light on their impact on structure formation. The research provides a better understanding of these outflows and their role in regulating growth, using data from multiple space observatories.
An international team of astronomers discovered a clumpy gas stream flowing quickly outward and blocking 90 percent of the X-rays emitted by the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy NGC 5548. The researchers believe this activity provides new insights into the interaction of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies.
Researchers have discovered a rapidly moving gas streamer blocking X-rays from the galaxy's nucleus, indicating a significant decrease in radiation. This phenomenon may regulate the growth of both the supermassive black hole and its host galaxy.
A new study reveals magnetic fields near supermassive black holes can match the force of their gravitational pull, affecting gas dynamics and outflows. Magnetic field strengths are comparable to those produced by MRI machines.
Astronomers have found evidence that two classes of blazars represent different sides of the same cosmic coin, with one class being a gas-guzzling car and the other an energy-efficient electric vehicle. The team's redshift survey revealed that FSRQs began to decline while BL Lacs increased in numbers around 5.6 billion years ago.
Researchers have detected circularly polarized light from a recently formed black hole, confirming a theoretical model. The discovery was made using the VLT telescope and is considered an extraordinary event due to its high degree of polarization.
Astronomers have found the closest, second-brightest hypervelocity star, speeding at 1 million mph. The star probes the supermassive black hole at the galaxy's center and the halo of mysterious dark matter, providing insights into the galaxy's structure.
Researchers measured circular polarisation in the bright flash of light from a dying star collapsing to a black hole, giving insight into an event that occurred 11 billion years ago. This discovery challenges current understanding of Gamma-ray Bursts and suggests a more complex mechanism for their formation.
Researchers found a runaway star cluster named HVGC-1 in the M87 galaxy, moving at over two million miles per hour. The cluster was likely flung out of the galaxy by supermassive black holes at its core.
Cosmic slurp: Researchers used NSF XSEDE supercomputers to simulate tidal disruptions of stars by supermassive black holes, predicting their observational signatures. This will help advance our understanding of galactic physics and properties of supermassive black holes.
Researchers at Northwestern University are observing the closest approach between Sgr A*, a supermassive black hole, and gas cloud G2, which could reveal insights into black hole growth. The data from Chandra X-ray Observatory and Very Large Array may provide clues about the feeding habits of these massive objects.
Researchers at SISSA have discovered that neutron stars can be described with just three parameters: mass, angular momentum, and quadrupole moment, independent of the equation of state. This finding has major implications for understanding these complex objects.
Physicist Chris Adami has solved the information paradox in Hawking's black hole theory by introducing the concept of stimulated emission. According to Adami, the information swallowed by a black hole is copied and preserved outside the event horizon through stimulated emission.
Astronomers have found a new superpowered small black hole named MQ1 in galaxy M83, which is classed as a microquasar with jets that heat and sweep away surrounding gas. The discovery sheds light on early universe evolution and provides insight into the growth of quasars.
Astronomers have observed huge clouds of gas circling supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies, revealing a previously unknown phenomenon. These clouds can intermittently dim X-ray sources, providing evidence for their existence and confirming predictions made by recent models.
Astronomers using data from NASA's RXTE satellite discovered a dozen cloud events where gas clouds moved across the line of sight, dimming X-ray light produced by supermassive black holes in active galaxies. The study triples previous cloud event counts and provides new insights into the environments around supermassive black holes.
Researchers used computer simulations to explore the destruction of a star by a black hole, finding that hydrogen lines are highly ionized and don't appear in spectra. The study provides new insights into the origin of emission lines in tidal disruption events and sheds light on the role of accretion disks.
Larry Smarr, a physicist at the University of California, San Diego, has been awarded the first 2014 Golden Goose Award for his work on black hole collisions that led to a US supercomputing revolution. His team's creation of NCSA Mosaic, a precursor to web browsers, enabled modern graphical Web browsing.
A Tel Aviv University study suggests that cosmic heating occurred later than previously believed, allowing astronomers to detect the earliest black holes by searching for radio waves in space. This finding has significant implications for our understanding of the universe's origins and the history of cosmic expansion.
An international team of astronomers has discovered a surprising new class of hypervelocity stars moving fast enough to escape the gravitational grasp of the Milky Way galaxy. The new stars are relatively small and have different ejection mechanisms than previously discovered hypervelocity stars.
Researchers at the University of Washington and Stony Brook University have discovered a potential link between quantum entanglement and wormholes. The study suggests that entangled particles may be connected by hypothetical features of space-time that could facilitate faster-than-light travel.
A team of astronomers has made a surprising finding about smaller black holes, discovering they can eat matter in an orderly fashion. The black hole in question is surprisingly lightweight and swallows its material at close to its theoretical limits, producing high-energy X-rays.
Scientists at Rochester Institute of Technology will simulate extreme black holes with support from a $525,000 grant. Their contributions will help advance the international effort to confirm the existence of gravitational waves and black holes, anticipating new field discoveries.
Researchers have found evidence of iron and nickel in the jets from a typical black hole, revealing that these heavy atoms carry more energy than lighter particles. This discovery suggests that black holes' accretion disks power jets, which could generate detectable gamma rays and neutrinos.
Los Alamos scientists observed an extraordinary cosmic event, a black hole birth, with advanced telescopes that yielded detailed data on the event's energy levels and 'afterglow.' The rare occurrence tested long-held assumptions about the universe, revealing higher-than-theoretically-possible energy levels for gamma rays.
Researchers at the University of Delaware part of an international team that observed 28 high-energy particle events coming from cosmic accelerators, possibly exploding stars or accreting black holes. The discovery marks the first solid evidence of neutrinos originating from sources outside our solar system.
A team of astronomers discovered that black hole jets contain ordinary atoms, including nickel and iron, which provide the positive charge. The jets are accelerated to high speeds, with some moving at 66% of the speed of light, revealing new insights into their formation.
Researchers propose a new model for supermassive black hole growth involving 'seed' black holes formed from early stars. A single collapsing star can produce a pair of black holes that merge, resolving the issue of their rapid formation in the young universe.
Researchers found iron concentration is uniform across Perseus Galaxy Cluster, indicating widespread dispersal of heavy elements in the early universe. The team attributes this to supernova explosions and active black holes, suggesting a period of intense cosmic activity.