Scientists have unlocked one of the biggest mysteries of quasars—the brightest, most powerful objects in the universe—by discovering that they are ignited by galaxies colliding.
Astronomy
Apr 25, 2023
11
2089
If they exist, intermediate-mass black holes likely devour wayward stars like a messy toddler—taking a few bites and then flinging the remains across the galaxy—a new Northwestern University-led study has found.
Astronomy
Apr 25, 2023
0
1679
A distant star, dying a fiery and dramatic death, torn apart by a supermassive black hole in a forgotten corner of the sky. One of the most luminous, energetic, long-lasting transient objects didn't blaze through the night ...
Astronomy
Apr 25, 2023
3
103
Now in its fifth year in space, NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) remains a rousing success. TESS's cameras have mapped more than 93% of the entire sky, discovered 329 new worlds and thousands more candidates, ...
Astronomy
Apr 18, 2023
0
16
An accretion disk is a colossal whirlpool of gas and dust that gathers around a black hole or a neutron star like cotton candy as it pulls in material from a nearby star. As the disk spins, it whips up powerful winds that ...
Astronomy
Apr 10, 2023
1
304
Using ESA's XMM-Newton and NASA's NuSTAR space telescopes, astronomers have observed a nearby active galaxy known as NGC 7582. Results of the observational campaign, published March 30 on the arXiv pre-print server, shed ...
Astronomers have spotted a candidate supermassive black hole running away from its home galaxy, hurtling through space at a velocity of about 4 million miles per hour for the past 39 million years.
Astronomy
Apr 6, 2023
2
147
Astronomers have made a rare discovery in the early universe involving two actively feeding supermassive black holes—or quasars—just 10,000 light-years apart from each other, that are on the verge of a colossal collision.
Astronomy
Apr 5, 2023
1
199
A team of international astronomers have discovered a galaxy that has changed classification due to unique activity within its core. The galaxy, named PBC J2333.9-2343, was previously classified as a radio galaxy, but the ...
Astronomy
Mar 21, 2023
0
319
When matter falls into supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies, it unleashes enormous amounts of energy and is called an active galactic nuclei (or AGN). A fraction of AGN release part of this energy as jets that ...
Astronomy
Mar 21, 2023
0
55
