Next major X-ray mission set to launch

The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) is ready to launch on 7 September 2023 to observe the most energetic objects and events in the cosmos. In doing so, it will unveil the evolution of the universe and the structure ...

Hunting for supermassive black holes in the early universe

Supermassive black holes (SMBHs)—black holes with masses exceeding a million times that of the sun—are known to prevail in the universe today. However, it is not clear yet when, where, and how they formed during the 13.8 ...

How does 'MAD' accretion form around a black hole?

An international scientific team has revealed for the first time the magnetic field transport processes in the accretion flow of a black hole and the formation of a "MAD"—a magnetically arrested disk—in the vicinity of ...

Unprecedented gamma-ray burst explained by long-lived jet

Last year, Northwestern University researchers reported new observational evidence that long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) can result from the merger of a neutron star with another compact object (either another neutron star or ...

Gravitational wave detectors as probes of dark matter

Dark matter is a keystone assumption in the current understanding of the universe. Yet, the elemental identity of dark matter is not known, and its future discovery remains a primary goal in the fields of cosmology and particle ...

Astronomers reveal eclipsing absorber in active galaxy NGC 6814

A research team led by Prof. Wang Junxian and Ph.D. students Kang Jialai from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) has revealed a marvelous, composite eclipsing absorber ...

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