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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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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.

Event Horizon Telescope, which hunts black holes, cancels 2020 observations due to coronavirus

By Meghan Bartels

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a global network of telescopes to cancel its annual observations of black holes, which last spring published the first ever image of such an object.

The Event Horizon Telescope captured this image of the supermassive black hole and its shadow that's in the center of the galaxy M87.

'Infinite subrings' may be next frontier for photographing black holes

By Mike Wall

Black-hole photography could be even more powerful and revelatory than scientists had thought.

This radio image shows two jets shooting out of the center of Cygnus A, a galaxy not too far from our own. A new paper reports discovering a similar object in a much more distant, ancient galaxy. That galaxy has a bright, relatavistic jet emanating from its central supermassive black hole pointed at Earth, making it a blazar.

The universe may have been filled with supermassive black holes at the dawn of time

By Rafi Letzter

As the universe cooled in the era after the Big Bang, a supermassive black hole had already formed in the center of a galaxy, forming a giant engine of energy we can still see today.

Artist's illustration of a black hole.

Is life possible around black holes?

By Paul Sutter

A new research paper has found a new potential type of abode for life: a rocky planet orbiting just past the event horizon of a rapidly spinning supermassive black hole.

This image shows the X-ray outburst from the black hole MAXI J0637-043.

Surprise! Students get an unexpected glimpse of a black hole 30,000 light-years away

By Chelsea Gohd

Peering into deep space with an instrument they built, a group of students and researchers caught a surprising glimpse of a newly discovered black hole 30,000 light-years from Earth.

Evidence for the biggest explosion seen in the universe comes from a combination of X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Europe’s XMM-Newton space telescope, and the Murchison Widefield Array and Giant Metrewave Telescope, as shown here. The eruption is generated by a black hole located in the cluster's central galaxy, which has blasted out jets and carved a large cavity in the surrounding hot gas. Researchers estimate this explosion released five times more energy than the previous record holder and hundreds of thousands of times more than a typical galaxy cluster.

Boom! Scientists spot the biggest known explosion in the universe

By Mike Wall

A gargantuan explosion tore through the heart of a distant galaxy cluster, releasing about five times more energy than the previous record holder, a new study reports.

Black holes are infinitely dense objects surrounded by smooth event horizons.

Black holes shouldn't echo, but this one might. Score 1 for Stephen Hawking?

By Rafi Letzter

When two neutron stars slammed together far off in space, they created a powerful shaking in the universe — and their echoes could violate Einstein's theory of relativity.

An artist's depiction of a dwarf galaxy with a massive black hole highlighted.

Why are black holes just 'wandering' on the outskirts of their dwarf galaxies?

By Samantha Mathewson

Several supermassive black holes have been found wandering through their dwarf host galaxies, offering new clues about how similar black holes evolved in the early universe.

This illustration shows the six strange objects (dubbed G1 through G6) that astronomers detected swirling around our galaxy's central black hole. The mysterious blobs orbit the hole every 100 to 1,000 years, stretching out as they approach.

The black hole at the center of the galaxy is forging a strange new kind of star

By Brandon Specktor

The black hole at the center of our galaxy is warping and combining stars into a strange new kind of object, astronomers say.

An artist's illustration of the supermassive black hole at the center of M87.

Jets Blast Out of Famous Black Hole at 99% the Speed of Light

By Elizabeth Howell

The jets emanating from a famous black hole are cruising along at near light speed, according to new observations.

An animation showing scientists' understanding of a black hole's accretion disk.

The Biggest Black Hole Findings of 2019

By Tia Ghose

These strange discoveries will suck you in.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by the Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule on Jan. 1, 2019 as shown in this artist's illustration. It's the furthest planetary flyby in history.

Asteroids, Comets, Black Holes — Oh My! The Year 2019 in Astronomy

By Nola Taylor Redd

A black hole was photographed, the farthest flyby was completed, and a beloved rover was proclaimed dead. Follow us through the highs and lows of 2019 space science.

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.

Historic 1st Photo of a Black Hole Named Science Breakthrough of 2019

By Charles Q. Choi

The first image of a black hole, previously thought nigh impossible to capture, was named the top scientific breakthrough of 2019 by the journal Science.

An artist's impression of a gas halo surrounding a quasar in the early universe. The quasar has a supermassive black hole at its center and two powerful jets. The gas halo surrounding the quasar consists of cool, dense hydrogen gas.

Giant Gas 'Halos' Fed Hungry Black Holes at the Dawn of the Universe

By Samantha Mathewson

Gas halos surround some of the earliest galaxies in the universe, providing a reservoir of cool gas that fuels the growth of supermassive black holes.

Two black holes merge, generating gravitational waves.

Giant Black Hole at the Center of Our Galaxy May Have a Friend

By Smadar Naoz

A second supermassive black hole may be lurking at the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way.

An artist's depiction of the giant binary system LB-1.

'Monster Black Hole' Discovery Was Wrong — But That's How Science Progresses, Scientists Say

By Chelsea Gohd

Apparently, that "monster black hole" that researchers found isn't so monstrous after all.

The XMM-Newton spacecraft.

Europe's XMM-Newton Telescope Celebrates 20 Years of X-Ray Astronomy

By Elizabeth Howell

A European Space Agency telescope celebrated 20 years of exploring the secrets of the X-ray universe this week.

An artist's depiction of the giant stellar-mass black hole LB1 accreting gas from a nearby blue companion star.

This Newfound Monster Black Hole Is Too Big for Theories to Handle

By Elizabeth Howell

Scientists recently found a black hole so big that current theory strains to prove it exists, a new study reports.

This composite image combines data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the NSF's Karl Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). Chandra observed powerful X-rays (red) produced by hot gas circling around a black hole at the center of a galaxy located 9.9 billion light-years from Earth. The VLA was used to detect radio-wave emissions (blue) emitted by the jet of high-energy particles streaming from the black hole.

A Black Hole Is Boosting Star Birth in Multiple Galaxies from Trillions of Miles Away

By Samantha Mathewson

While black holes are famously known for devouring any matter that gets too close, these cosmic behemoths may have a nurturing side, too.

Artist's illustration of a black hole.

It's 'Black Hole Friday'! Take a Break from Shopping to Celebrate with NASA (Video)

By Mike Wall

NASA is trying to rebrand the spend-happy day after Thanksgiving, inspiring us to appreciate the wonders of the universe by contemplating its most extreme objects.