Astronomers have observed two black holes in nearby galaxies devouring their companion stars at an extremely high rate, and spitting out matter at a quarter the speed of light.
Astronomy
Apr 28, 2016
0
2623
A near-record supermassive black hole discovered in a sparse area of the local universe indicates that these monster objects - this one equal to 17 billion suns - may be more common than once thought, according to University ...
Astronomy
Apr 6, 2016
173
1656
Near the edge of the visible Universe are some of the brightest objects ever observed, known as quasars, which are believed to contain supermassive black holes of more than a billion times the mass of our Sun. Simulations ...
Astronomy
Mar 30, 2016
0
59
You know that saying, "keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer?" That advice needs to go right out the window when we're talking black holes. They're the worst enemies you could have and you want them as far ...
Astronomy
Mar 21, 2016
6
79
Astronomers using the unique ultraviolet capabilities of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have identified nine monster stars with masses over 100 times the mass of the Sun in the star cluster R136. This makes it the largest ...
Astronomy
Mar 17, 2016
16
1522
The center of our Milky Way galaxy lies about 27,000 light-years away in the direction of the constellation of Sagittarius. At its core is a black hole about four million solar masses in size. Around the black hole is a donut-shaped ...
Astronomy
Feb 29, 2016
19
133
Einstein was right – changes in gravity do spread as waves through space. The LIGO experiment detected such waves from a collision between two black holes with masses of about 36 and 29 times that of the sun (described ...
Astronomy
Feb 18, 2016
21
270
Great scientific discoveries often raise more questions than they answer. Just days after the announcement that gravitational waves from two merging black holes have been detected, astrophysicists are already pondering what ...
Astronomy
Feb 17, 2016
21
34
The term "black hole" was first used in the mid-20th century by theoretical physicist John Wheeler. This term denotes relativistic supermassive objects that are invisible in all electromagnetic waves, but a great number of ...
Astronomy
Jan 26, 2016
0
50
Most galaxies possess a majestic spiral or elliptical structure. About a quarter of galaxies, though, defy such conventional, rounded aesthetics, instead sporting a messy, indefinable shape. Known as irregular galaxies, this ...
Astronomy
Jan 25, 2016
0
970
