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 illustration of a swirling disk around a jet of bright white light.

These supermassive black hole jets may pelt Earth with 'ghost particles'

By Robert Lea published

New research shows gamma-ray blasting blazars could also be belting Earth with "ghost particles," or neutrinos.

direct image of a supermassive black hole, showing a fuzzy orange ring surrounding a dark circle

1st black hole ever imaged by humanity is losing huge amount of energy through 'lightsaber' jets

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

The first black hole ever imaged by humanity, M87*, appears to be losing energy like a spinning top decelerating over time.

the black hole at the milky way galaxy's heart is seen as a bright, fuzzy orange donut-shaped object against the blackness of space.

Supermassive black hole at heart of the Milky Way is approaching the cosmic speed limit

By Robert Lea published

Supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* is spinning nearly as fast as it can, dragging the very fabric of space-time with it and shaping the heart of the Milky Way.

Twisted magnetic fields around the black hole at the heart of M87, shown in an illustration, may provide an escape route for matter from the immense gravitational well.

1st black hole ever imaged by humans has twisted magnetic fields and scientists are thrilled

By Robert Lea published

"The unprecedented Event Horizon Telescope observations are allowing us to answer long-standing questions about how black holes consume matter."

An illustration of a supermassive black hole impacted the distribution of the interstellar medium. a black circle a the center radiates gas all around.

Supermassive black holes are messy eaters big on recycling

By Robert Lea published

These observations could hint at how the cosmic titans grow to hold the immense masses we calculate.

An image of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, a behemoth dubbed Sagittarius A*, revealed by the Event Horizon Telescope on May 12, 2022.

Swirling gas helps scientists nail down Milky Way's supermassive black hole mass

By Conor Feehly published

An independent mass measurement of Sagittarius A* suggests we have been right all along about how utterly massive this black hole is.

The illustration of a black hole blasting out a jet, depicting what the twisted areas of the jet would look like in blueish-white. An accretion disk in fiery reds and oranges is also visible.

Supermassive black hole seen spinning ropes of plasma like a cosmic spider

By Robert Lea published

A supermassive black hole is spinning a 570-light-year-long, twisted rope at near-light speed — and scientists caught the action.

A wispy white structure is seen against the backdrop of space.

Earth's nearest supermassive black hole pair lies in the wreckage of a galactic collision

By Robert Lea published

The Gemini South telescope observed two spiral galaxies that smashed together around a billion years ago. The aftermath harbors the closest supermassive black hole binary to Earth.

The speed of light is a speed limit on everything in our universe. Or is it?

Distorted crystals use 'pseudogravity' to bend light like black holes do

By Stephanie Pappas published

Researchers have used a special crystal to bend the trajectory of light like a black hole would, a phenomenon known as 'pseudogravity.'

An illustration shows black holes spiraling around each other, leaving the very fabric of space ringing with gravitational waves

LIGO gravitational wave detector breaks 'quantum limit' to find deep universe black hole collisions

By Robert Lea published

The sensitivity of LIGO has squeezed the quantum limit, meaning it can now detect merging black holes and neutron stars on smaller scales and at greater distances than ever before.

a cylindrical spacecraft in space surrounded by stars

Here's how NASA's Roman Space Telescope will hunt for lonely black holes and distant exoplanets

By Robert Lea published

NASA has revealed how the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will grant astronomers the deepest view into the heart of the Milky Way ever as they hunt for planets, stars, black holes and more.

An image of two black holes in a binary pair, which could be more stable than scientists believed.

Dark energy may allow black holes to live in 'perfect pair' binaries

By Robert Lea published

Binary black holes are believed to inevitably spiral together, but dark energy and the expanding universe could help them maintain a safe distance and mimic a single black hole.

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.