Articles tagged with Black Holes
Astronomers have discovered two ghostly Goliath black holes just 750 light-years apart, closing in on a cataclysmic meeting. The estimated population of merging supermassive black holes may be surprisingly high, generating strong gravitational waves detectable by future telescopes.
Large gamma-ray emitting bubbles are produced by fast blowing outward winds and the associated reverse shock. Numerical simulations successfully reproduced the temperature profile observed by an X-ray telescope, supporting this scenario.
The ERC Red Cardinal project aims to shed light on the mysterious phase of star formation extinction in massive galaxies. The team, led by Sirio Belli, will use James Webb Space Telescope observations to test a hypothesis predicting two distinct modes of stellar extinction.
Using supercomputers and machine learning, researchers created simulations of millions of computer-generated universes to test astrophysical predictions. The study found that supermassive black holes grow in the same way as their host galaxies, revealing a long-elusive relationship.
Researchers used 69 confirmed binaries to test two origin stories of black holes, but found that the current catalog is not enough to reveal anything fundamental about their formation. The study suggests that the universe's spin and tilt can be 'spun' in different ways depending on the model used.
The event challenged scientists' understanding of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which are the most powerful events in the universe. The burst's high-energy light and kilonova visible and infrared light were detected by NASA's Swift Observatory and Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, providing new insights into how heavy elements are created.
A recent gamma-ray burst has been identified as a kilonova, shedding light on the merging of neutron stars and black holes. The event produced an excess of infrared light and lasted about a minute, contradicting the typical short duration of such explosions.
A team led by University of Maryland astronomer Igor Andreoni discovered a bright optical flare caused by a dying star's encounter with a supermassive black hole. The event, AT2022cmc, is extremely rare and was found using a novel data pipeline that analyzed the Zwicky Transient Facility survey.
Astronomers have detected the most distant black hole swallowing a star, with the event occurring one-third of its current age. The discovery was made using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) and provides new insights into these extreme events.
Astronomers have discovered a mysterious bright flash emanating from a relativistic jet of matter streaking out from a supermassive black hole. The signal, AT 2022cmc, is the brightest TDE ever detected and originates from a black hole that suddenly began devouring a nearby star, releasing an enormous amount of energy.
Researchers believe a black hole suddenly began devouring a nearby star, releasing energy and creating the brightest ever recorded TDE. The jet's direction may be pointing towards Earth, causing Doppler boosting, and could reveal insights into how supermassive black holes grow.
Researchers suggest using ancient red giant stars' winds as a potential source of material for observing the supermassive black hole. This could provide the accretion rate needed to detect the black hole, which is currently undetectable due to its low activity.
Gravitational wave observatories LIGO and Virgo captured a signal in 2019 that differed from previous measurements. Researchers found an alternative explanation: the collision occurred on a strongly eccentric path, where one black hole was initially free to move before being captured by another's gravitational field.
Researchers detected a long-sought after innermost dusty ring around the type 1 active galactic nucleus (AGN) NGC 4151 with unprecedented clarity. The CHARA Array Interferometer achieved this milestone by resolving the dust sublimation region at a hundred microarcsecond scale.
According to new research led by the University of Bath, some short-duration gamma-ray bursts are triggered by the birth of supramassive stars, not black holes. This discovery may offer a new way to locate neutron star mergers and gravitational wave emitters.
Astronomers used the Young Supernova Experiment to detect an intermediate-mass black hole in a dwarf galaxy, revealing its mass and providing insight into supermassive black hole growth. The study aims to improve understanding of black hole-galaxy relationships and inform theories on supermassive black hole formation.
Astronomers have discovered the closest-known black hole to Earth, a dormant stellar-mass black hole located about 1600 light-years away in the constellation Ophiuchus. This discovery was made possible by precise observations of the motion of the black hole's companion star using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph instrument.
Researchers use polarized X-ray measurements to refine models of black holes swallowing matter. The new data from Cygnus X-1 reveals a pencil-shaped plasma outflow and supports the hypothesis that processes near the black hole launch jets. This insight improves understanding of gravity's effects on space-time around black holes.
Researchers have developed a new model that combines nuclear physics and string theory to describe the transition to dense and hot quark matter in neutron star collisions. The model allows for the calculation of gravitational-wave signals, showing that both hot and cold quark matter can be produced.
Astronomers have discovered a rare system featuring a black hole spewing a jet at a neighboring galaxy, providing insights into radio jet feedback and its impact on star formation. The unique nature of RAD12 has allowed researchers to study the interaction between the black hole's jet and the companion galaxy.
Astronomers were surprised to find that a black hole is ejecting material at half the speed of light nearly three years after shredding a nearby star. The delayed outflow challenges scientists' understanding of black hole feeding behavior, with one researcher likening it to a 'black hole burping'.
The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can survive in the vicinity of supermassive black holes at the centers of active galaxies. This challenges previous studies that predicted their destruction, and reveals new insights into galaxy evolution.
A research team proposes that magnetic reconnection around black holes energizes plasma, producing copious electron-positron pairs loaded into radio jets. This explanation aligns with M87 observations and predicts short-term X-ray emission when plasma is loaded.
A new study has created the first map of the Milky Way's ancient dead stars, which reveals a 'galactic underworld' stretching three times the height of the galaxy. The map shows that almost a third of objects have been flung out from the galaxy, with neutron stars and black holes formed when massive stars collapse.
Astronomers detect massive light burst from 'infant' Universe, revealing properties of cosmic explosions. The GRB was triggered by a space explosion that occurred when the Universe was less than 900 million years old.
The Event Horizon Telescope collaboration successfully captured an image of the black hole at the center of our galaxy, a major breakthrough in astrophysics. This achievement will enable scientists to test fundamental predictions of general relativity and gain insights into the formation and evolution of galaxies.
A Northwestern University study reveals that X-shaped radio galaxies can form through a surprisingly simple process. The simulation, which tracked galactic gas far from the supermassive black hole, found that the galaxy's characteristic X-shape resulted from interaction between jets and infalling gas.
Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a new model to better understand the impact of oscillations in binary neutron stars on gravitational wave detection. This could significantly improve our understanding of neutron stars and their properties.
Astronomers propose a new method to measure the universe's expansion rate by analyzing the changes in signal properties of black hole collisions. By using the entire population of black holes as a calibration tool, scientists can directly identify and correct for errors, providing a more accurate measurement.
A team of researchers used sophisticated imaging algorithms to reveal a thin, bright ring of light created by photons flung around the back of a supermassive black hole. The photon ring, comprising increasingly sharp sub-rings, confirms theoretical predictions and offers new ways to explore these mysterious objects.
A team of researchers used advanced imaging algorithms to sharpen the image of the M87* black hole, revealing new insights into its behavior. The study found a thin, bright ring of light created by photons flung around the back of the black hole by its intense gravity.
Researchers used Stampede2 supercomputer to simulate star seeding, heating effects of primordial black holes. The study found that these two effects cancel each other out, with little impact on star formation.
A new study led by Dartmouth researchers provides the clearest understanding yet of supermassive black holes' life cycles. By analyzing X-ray telescope data and a new data analysis technique, scientists found that accretion rates vary significantly depending on how obscured an object is by gas and dust ring.
The heaviest neutron star detected has consumed nearly all the mass of its companion, growing into a record-breaking object. The study provides constraints on matter's behavior at extreme densities, potentially excluding exotic states of matter.
A UMass Amherst undergraduate student's work has provided key insight into how galaxies evolve, linking supermassive black hole growth to star formation. The study uses mid-infrared spectra to quantify the connection between these phenomena, paving the way for the James Webb Space Telescope to investigate galaxy evolution.
A team of astronomers, known for debunking black hole discoveries, found a dormant stellar-mass black hole in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The newly discovered black hole is at least nine times the mass of the Sun and orbits a hot star weighing 25 times the Sun's mass.
A team of experts finds a dormant stellar-mass black hole in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighbor galaxy to our own. The star that formed the black hole vanished without any sign of a powerful explosion.
A team of scientists led by Clemson University's Marco Ajello has provided conclusive evidence that astrophysical neutrinos come from blazars, which are powerful black holes. This breakthrough resolves the long-standing question about the origin of high-energy cosmic rays.
Astronomers observe a star's destruction and discover that most of its material forms a spherical cloud, blocking high-energy emissions. The polarization of light from the event reveals symmetry in the cloud.
Researchers at University of Cologne and Masaryk University discovered a star, S4716, orbiting Sagittarius A* in just four years and reaching speeds of 8000 kilometers per second. The study sheds new light on the origin and evolution of fast-moving stars near black holes.
A Northwestern University-led team developed a 3D simulation of jet evolution, explaining GRB blinking and rarity. The new model shows that GRBs are punctuated by quiet moments due to wobbling jets, which also indicate they are rarer than previously thought.
A team of scientists used the flickering light of gas around a black hole to construct an accurate model of our galaxy's central black hole. They found that gas is directly infalling from large distances, rather than being siphoned off over time.
Researchers at UC Berkeley have detected a possible free-floating black hole in the Milky Way galaxy using gravitational microlensing. The object's mass is estimated to be between 1.6 and 4.4 times that of the sun, but its nature as a black hole or neutron star remains uncertain.
A team of physicists discovered that clouds of ultralight particles around rotating black holes leave a characteristic imprint on gravitational waves. This finding suggests the existence of new particles with very low mass, predicted by several theories beyond the Standard Model of particle physics.
A team of astronomers found that black holes played a crucial role in preventing rejuvenated star formation in massive quiescent galaxies. By analyzing the combined light from thousands of galaxies, they discovered a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus that may have heated the galaxy's gas, preventing new stars from forming.
Astronomers used the Cosmic Evolution Survey to discover active supermassive black holes in distant galaxies. These findings suggest that a supermassive black hole can disrupt gas and prevent star formation, leading to the sudden end of galaxy star formation.
Researchers have found that stars in distant galaxies are typically more massive than those in the Milky Way, changing our understanding of astronomical phenomena like black holes, supernovae, and galaxy death. This discovery may also explain why galaxies die and stop forming new stars.
Researchers have found a significant number of massive black holes in dwarf galaxies, contradicting previous assumptions that they are rare. The newly discovered black holes offer insights into the life story of the Milky Way's supermassive black hole and its potential mergers with other galaxies.
The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration has captured the first direct visual evidence of a supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. The image reveals a dark central region surrounded by a bright ring-like structure, indicating the presence of a massive object four million times more massive than our Sun.
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has captured the first image of Sagittarius A*, a black hole at the center of the Milky Way, revealing a ring-like structure and shadow. The observation confirms Einstein's theory of general relativity and provides new insights into giant black holes.
A team of University of Illinois researchers, led by Charles Gammie, has captured the first direct visual evidence of a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. The image reveals a dark central region surrounded by a bright ringlike structure, providing valuable clues about the workings of such giants.
The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, led by Caltech's Katherine L. Bouman, generated the first image of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) using data from eight radio observatories worldwide. The resulting image confirms Sgr A* is a supermassive black hole with a mass nearly four million times that of the sun.
The Event Horizon Telescope captured the first image of Sagittarius A*, a hot and dense black hole surrounded by superheated gas, improving our understanding of black holes. The Frontera supercomputer supported this achievement through innovative data-driven astronomy.
A team of astronomers, including those from MIT's Haystack Observatory, has captured the light around our own supermassive black hole, revealing for the first time an image of Sagitarrius A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The resulting image reveals SgrA* in a glowing, donut-shaped ring of light.
Researchers discover innovative method to test Unruh effect in lab settings, enabling experimentation with high-intensity lasers. They also find acceleration-induced transparency, a phenomenon that could aid in unifying Einstein's general relativity with quantum mechanics.
Researchers developed a technique to study supermassive black holes smaller than M87's by measuring the brightness of their shadows over time. The 'shadow' signal can reveal the size and shape of a black hole's event horizon, shedding light on gravity's nature.
Researchers have identified the rarest type of black widow binary yet, featuring a pulsar and a third star that orbits every 10,000 years. The system, ZTF J1406+1222, has the shortest orbital period ever recorded, with the pulsar and companion star circling each other in just 62 minutes.
Researchers find that black holes go through a 'hard' and 'soft' state during outbursts, with the final flash possibly indicating a brief expansion of the corona. The findings help scientists understand how supermassive black holes shape galaxy formation.
The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission enables new measurements of cosmic X-ray sources, such as pulsars, black holes, and neutron stars. With its state-of-the-art telescopes and detectors, IXPE will provide high-quality polarization data of various sources, including supernova remnants, active galaxies, and blazars.
A Northwestern University astrophysics team proposes that fast blue optical transients (FBOTs) originate from the cocoons of jets launched by dying stars. The new model, fully consistent with all FBOT observations, suggests that as the jet pushes the cocoon outward, it cools and releases heat, emitting an observed FBOT emission.