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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An artist's concept of a feeding supermassive black hole with a jet streaming outward at nearly the speed of light.

Black hole jet changes direction as astronomers watch in cosmic first — and it's aimed right at us

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

Astronomers are redefining a galaxy whose black hole jet changed directions by 90 degrees.

An artist’s impression of a black hole, where the black hole’s intense gravitational field distorts the space around it.

The largest black hole ever discovered can fit 30 billion suns. We found it with gravity and bent light

By Tereza Pultarova published

Astronomers have just discovered what may be the largest black hole known to date.

When Fermi and GRBAlpha detected the burst, the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was on the other side of the Earth and localized the burst an hour later thanks to its afterglow.

A tiny Eastern European cubesat measured a monster gamma-ray burst better than NASA. Here's how

By Tereza Pultarova published

The brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen blinded all of NASA's flagship gamma-ray missions last year. This tiny Eastern European cubesat, however, didn't get overwhelmed.

The Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 revealed the infrared afterglow (circled) of the BOAT GRB and its host galaxy, seen nearly edge-on as a sliver of light extending to the burst's upper right. This composite incorporates images taken on Nov. 8 and Dec. 4, 2022, one and two months after the eruption.

Brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen a 1-in-10,000-years event that's 'absolutely monstrous,' scientists say

By Mike Wall published

"The BOAT"' was about 70 times brighter than any other gamma-ray burst that scientists have observed, a new study reports.

An illustration of a supermassive black hole ringed with a fiery orange accretion disk ending in a thick ring of black dust

Black holes may be swallowing invisible matter that slows the movement of stars

By Robert Lea published

Scientists watched as two stars slowed in their orbits around black holes, concluding it was the result of "drag" generated by dark matter.

The compact radio jet in the center of the Teacup Galaxy blows a lateral turbulent wind in the cold dense gas, as predicted by the simulations.

Supermassive black hole's relativistic jets are blowing bubbles in the Teacup Galaxy

By Briley Lewis published

New research investigates how relativistic jets from a supermassive black hole has been shaping the Teacup Galaxy, giving it its iconic handle.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope fully unfolded in space.

Monster black hole may have killed this galaxy's star-forming power, James Webb Telescope reveals

By Ben Turner published

New James Webb Space Telescope observations reveal that the galaxy GS-9209 had its star-forming power abruptly “quenched” by mysterious forces after millions of years of productivity.

The two sets of colliding black holes in dwarf galaxies as seen by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Double trouble! Two pairs of giant black holes spotted on collision course

By Robert Lea published

Two pairs of giant black holes set to collide have been spotted by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the first evidence of such a cosmic collision.

An illustration of a rainbow-colored cloud of gas in space getting sucked into a funnel-like opening

Wormholes might bend light like black holes do — and that could be the key to finding them

By JoAnna Wendel published

If wormholes exist, they might magnify distant objects according to Einstein's theory of relativity — and that makes it possible for us to find them, new research suggests.

A quasar, which the new black hole is an early form of, blasting a jet of hot, radioactive wind into the cosmos.

Rare black hole 1 billion times the mass of the sun could upend our understanding of galaxy formation

By Ben Turner published

A rare supermassive black hole found hiding at the dawn of the universe could indicate that there were thousands more of the ravenous monsters stalking the early cosmos.

Artist's rendering of what is anticipated to happen around the year 2036 when X7, an elongated filament of dust and gas, makes its closest approach to the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole.

The Milky Way's monster black hole is destroying a mysterious dust cloud

By Tereza Pultarova published

Astronomers are observing the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy tearing apart a strange dust cloud in real time.

An illustration showing a black hole being ejected from a galaxy's center, as a trail of brightly glowing gas follows behind

'Runaway' black hole the size of 20 million suns found speeding through space with a trail of newborn stars behind it

By Robert Lea published

Astronomers have discovered a "runaway" black hole, potentially the first observational evidence that supermassive black holes can be ejected from their host galaxies.

Illustration of two black holes orbiting each other, emitting gravitational waves.

Colliding black holes 'ring' across space-time with gravitational wave ripples

By Robert Lea published

A new model suggests how gravitational waves created by the collision between black holes spread and interact within the fabric of space-time.

A close-up of the black hole at the center of the NRAO 530 galaxy observed by the Event Horizon Telescope.

Event Horizon Telescope spies a black hole powering a super bright monster object

By Robert Lea published

Astronomers using the Event Horizon Telescope were able to see a supermassive blackhole powering a super bright quasar at the heart of a distant galaxy.

An illustration of a black hole.

Black holes may be the source of mysterious dark energy

By Stefanie Waldek published

Black holes may be the origin of dark energy, according to a study by a team of researchers led by the University of Hawaii.

An image of two colliding galaxies as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Galactic collisions act as a 'cosmic delivery service' for hungry monster black holes

By Robert Lea published

Astronomers may finally know what delivers the gas that feeds the powerful phenomena surrounding active black holes.

An artist's impression of a star (foreground) being disrupted as it passes close to a supermassive black hole.

Star survives spaghettification by black hole

By Keith Cooper published

A star has survived a close encounter with a black hole, but the black hole has been able to sneak a second bite.

An artist's impression of a galactic center shrouded in dust.

Black holes at galactic centers blast out 10 times more light than previously thought

By Tereza Pultarova published

Black holes residing at the center of galaxies produce way more energy than scientists previously thought, a new study has revealed.

An artist's illustration of a black hole. The center of black holes are examples of singularities.

Could humans use black holes to time travel?

By Sam Baron published

Black holes form natural time machines that allow travel to both the past and the future. But don't expect to be visiting dinosaurs any time soon.

A star is shredded into a donut shape by a supermassive black hole.

Hungry black hole is transforming star into a stellar taffy and a cosmic donut

By Robert Lea published

A distant black hole has a real sweet tooth, stretching a star that ventured too close to it into a stellar taffy and a doughnut the size of the solar system before devouring it.