Astronomical black holes are compact astrophysical systems characterized by regions of spacetime where gravity is so strong that no matter or radiation can escape beyond the event horizon. They are described by solutions to Einstein’s field equations, typically approximated by the Kerr or Schwarzschild metrics, and are defined by mass, spin, and (negligible) charge. Formed primarily via stellar core collapse or hierarchical mergers, they interact with their environments through accretion disks, relativistic jets, and gravitational-wave emission. Astronomical black holes span stellar-mass to supermassive regimes, influencing galactic dynamics, high-energy radiation processes, and cosmological structure formation.
Some galaxies eject powerful streams of charged particles—jets—from their centers into space. The prominent jet of Messier 87 (M87) in the constellation Virgo is visible over distances of 3,000 light-years and can be observed ...
Astronomy
Jan 28, 2026
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A research team has investigated quasar variability by tracking optical to mid-infrared (MIR) wavelengths of variability information. This multiband joint analysis provides an opportunity to probe the dust structure in the ...
Astronomy
Jan 23, 2026
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An international research team led by scientists at Waseda University and Tohoku University has discovered an extraordinary quasar in the early universe that hosts one of the fastest-growing supermassive black holes known ...
Astronomy
Jan 22, 2026
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We now have direct images of two supermassive black holes: M87* and Sag A*. The fact that we can capture such images is remarkable, but they might be the only black holes we can observe. That is, unless we take radio astronomy ...
Astronomy
Jan 21, 2026
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It's one of astronomy's great mysteries: how did black holes get so big, so massive, so quickly. An answer to this cosmic conundrum has now been provided by researchers at Ireland's Maynooth University (MU) and reported today ...
Astronomy
Jan 21, 2026
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One of the most stubborn issues in cosmology today concerns the universe's rate of expansion. Scientists know it's expanding, but defining the rate of that expansion is challenging. The rate of expansion is called the Hubble ...
Astronomy
Jan 19, 2026
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One of the most vivid portraits of "reborn" black hole activity—likened to the eruption of a "cosmic volcano" spreading almost 1 million light-years across space—has been captured in a gigantic radio galaxy.
Astronomy
Jan 15, 2026
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What we know of the birth of a black hole has traditionally aligned with our perception of black holes themselves: dark, mysterious, and eerily quiet, despite their mass and influence. Stellar-mass black holes are born from ...
Astronomy
Jan 13, 2026
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The Circinus galaxy, a galaxy about 13 million light-years away, contains an active supermassive black hole that continues to influence its evolution. The largest source of infrared light from the region closest to the black ...
Astronomy
Jan 13, 2026
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Astronomers at the University of Warwick have discovered that black holes don't just consume matter—they manage it, choosing whether to blast it into space as high-speed jets or sweep it away in vast winds.
Astronomy
Jan 12, 2026
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