Black Holes

A black hole is a location in space that possesses so much gravity, nothing can escape its pull, even light. Learn more about what black holes are and the latest news.

Related Topics: Dark Matter, The Big Bang Theory, Gravitational Waves, The Theory of Relativity in Space 

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a swirling blue black and white circular center is seen from an angle, caved inside red and orange gases around its parimeter. a beam of light shoots from the center

Astronomers discover thousands of active red galaxy hearts with powerful radio signals

By Keith Cooper published

The radio signals hint at an important evolutionary step in the lives of galaxies.

The Event Horizon Telescope, a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes forged through international collaboration, captured this image of the supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy M87 and its shadow.

1st black hole imaged by humanity is confirmed to be spinning, study finds

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

New research has found the jet blasting outward from this black hole swings like a pendulum on an 11-year cycle.

Black hole and accretion disk.

New Horizon Prize in Physics awarded to scientists chasing mysterious black hole photon spheres

By Ben Turner published

Alexandru Lupsasca and Michael Johnson won the physics prize for their work on photon spheres — weird rings of light around black holes that may reveal a theory of quantum gravity.

simulation of supermassive black holes consuming gaseous disks. mostly green and blue.

Supermassive black holes eat more quickly than expected, 3D simulations suggest

By Robert Lea published

Supermassive black holes are even more fearsome eaters than scientists suspected, thanks to a "delivery system" that could help them feed over months rather than hundreds of years.

a spiral galaxy with an orange/yellow center and arms with pink and blue.

Heart of the 'Squid Galaxy' reveals how supermassive black holes dictate galactic chemistry

By Robert Lea published

A study of the Squid Galaxy, Messier 77, has revealed how chemicals swirl around its central black hole, revealing supermassive black holes impact the chemical evolution of their galaxies.

separate large galaxies shine alongside bright stars and other, distant galaxies.

Hubble Space Telescope discovers 11-billion-year-old galaxy hidden in a quasar's glare

By Robert Lea published

Astronomers normally observe galaxies by observing light these objects emit, but some tricky galaxies require a different approach.

An image of the Hyades star cluster shows tons of glimmering spots against the dark backdrop of space. Toward the left is a very bright region and in the middle is a less bright, albeit significant, glowing section.

Astronomers may have discovered the closest black holes to Earth

By Robert Lea published

These black holes could have also been ejected from the star cluster they live within.

A disk of hot gas swirls around a black hole in this illustration. The stream of gas is what remains of a star that was pulled apart by the black hole. A cloud of hot plasma above the black hole is known as a corona.

Ultra-powerful space explosion, 1st of its kind, may have been triggered by black hole star-destroyer

By Robert Lea published

A "Luminous Fast Cooler" explosion that emits as much energy in weeks as the sun will over 10 billion years could be the result of a black hole wrecking a star.

A blurry central circle shines orange/yellow amidst a cloudy haze. A white circle indicates the orb as black hole swj0230. Two additional orbs are in the upper portion of the photo.

This black hole is devouring a dying star — but it only feasts once a month

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

The frequency at which a star is being shredded by a black hole in a nearby galaxy offers clues into the poorly understood field of partial tidal disruption events.

A diagram shows light from the quasar being gravitationally lensed revealing the distribution of dark matter

Dark matter 'clumps' found by tapping into Einstein's general relativity theory

By Robert Lea published

Gravitationally lensed light from a distant quasar, powered by a supermassive black hole, could help constrain the properties of dark matter.

An illustration of a black hole.

'Twisty' new theory of gravity says information can escape black holes after all

By Paul Sutter published

Einstein's theory of relativity say black holes are 'bald', but a new tweak to his research may give the mysterious objects their long-sought 'hair.'

An illustration shows a tidal disruption event, a black hole ripping apart a star and devouring it.

Black holes keep 'burping up' stars they destroyed years earlier, and astronomers don't know why

By Robert Lea published

Years after ripping stars to shreds, 24 black holes suddenly flared up with radio waves in inexplicable 'burping' bouts. Half of all star-killing black holes may experience the same.

An illustration of a black hole with an accretion disk, accompanied by diagrams showcasing the team's research.

Supermassive black hole accretion disk seen 'on the edge' for 1st time

By Robert Lea published

Astronomers have imaged the outskirts of an accretion disk gradually feeding a supermassive black hole for the first time, potentially boosting our understanding of such hungry cosmic monsters.

illustration showing two black holes in space, with a colorful purplish nebula in the background.

Weirdly wobbly jets may be evidence of elusive supermassive black hole pairings

By Robert Lea published

The 'wobble' of jets blasting out from active galaxies, or blazars, is 'smoking gun' evidence for supermassive black hole binary systems that elude astronomers, a new study reports.

a vast field of shining galaxies

This gamma-ray space mystery may finally be solved with new black hole simulations

By Keith Cooper published

Here's why a black hole crashing into a neutron star belched out an odd gamma-ray burst.

two giant black orbs surrounded by two rings of yellow and white swirling gas clouds

Newly discovered black hole 'speed limit' hints at new laws of physics

By Anna Demming published

When supermassive black holes barrel toward collision, they can reach speeds of up to 1/10th the speed of light, new research suggests.

An illustration of a black hole leaving behind a trail of debris.

Supermassive black hole chews up huge star, spits stellar 'guts' into space (video)

By Monisha Ravisetti published

Scientists might have found the most massive star to be seen ravaged by a supermassive black hole.

An illustration of a supermassive black hole with a mass billions of times that of the sun. Did these cosmic titans grow from massive black hole seeds?

Astronomers find 1st evidence of heavy black hole seeds in the early universe

By Robert Lea published

The way in which supermassive black holes grew to tremendous sizes in the early universe has been a mystery for astronomers, but the puzzle could soon be solved.

a black hole in the middle of a swirling orange cloud

How did supermassive black holes get so big so fast just after the Big Bang?

By Robert Lea published

Reference Finding supermassive black holes with masses billions of times greater than the sun under a billion years after the Big Bang has scientists confused how these cosmic titans got so big so quickly.

An artist’s impression of matter being stripped from one star to another, removing their hydrogen envelope

Gravitational waves show black holes prefer certain masses before they collide

By Keith Cooper published

Knowing that black holes tend to have these masses could help provide a new way of measuring the expansion rate of the universe.