Fast, furious, refined: Smaller black holes can eat plenty

(Phys.org) —Gemini observations support an unexpected discovery in the galaxy Messier 101. A relatively small black hole (20-30 times the mass of our Sun) can sustain a hugely voracious appetite while consuming material ...

Image: Pulsar encased in a supernova bubble

(Phys.org) —Massive stars end their lives with a bang: exploding as spectacular supernovas, they release huge amounts of mass and energy into space. These explosions sweep up any surrounding material, creating bubble remnants ...

The search for seeds of black holes

(Phys.org) —How do you grow a supermassive black hole that is a million to a billion times the mass of our sun? Astronomers do not know the answer, but a new study using data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, ...

Close encounters of the galactic kind

(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers have used a large survey to test a prediction that close encounters between galaxies can trigger the rapid growth of supermassive black holes. Key to this work was Chandra's unique ability to ...

Most quasars live on snacks, not large meals

(Phys.org) -- Black holes in the early universe needed a few snacks rather than one giant meal to fuel their quasars and help them grow, according to observations from NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes.

Swift gamma-ray burst mission marks ten years of discovery

(Phys.org) —NASA's Swift spacecraft lifted off aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., beginning its mission to study gamma-ray bursts and identify their origins. Gamma-ray bursts are ...

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