active galactic nuclei
Astronomers are Starting to Understand the Quasar Lifecycle
Supermassive black holes have a complicated lifecycle. Sometimes they're "on", blasting out tremendous amounts of energy, and sometimes they're "off',…
Quasars are the Biggest Particle Accelerators in the Universe
We puny humans think we can accelerate particles? Look how proud we are of the Large Hadron Collider. But any…
Astronomers Have Recorded the Biggest Explosion Ever Seen in the Universe
Hundreds of millions of light years away, a supermassive black hole sits in the center of a galaxy cluster named…
New Method for Researching Activity Around Quasars and Black Holes
A new method devised by a team of Chinese and US researchers could lead to accurate estimates on the masses…
What are Active Galactic Nuclei?
The center of large galaxies are active places, where supermassive black holes pump out an incredible amount of light and…
New Simulation Models Galaxies Like Never Before
Astronomy is, by definition, intangible. Traditional laboratory-style experiments that utilize variables and control groups are of little use to the scientists who…
“Eye of Sauron” Galaxy Used For New Method of Galactic Surveying
Determining the distance of galaxies from our Solar System is a tricky business. Knowing just how far other galaxies are…
When do Black Holes Become Active? The Case of the Strangely-Shaped Galaxy Mrk 273
The Hubble image above shows a strange galaxy, known as Mrk 273. The odd shape – including the infrared bright…
Galactic Mergers Fail to Feed Black Holes
[/caption] The large black holes that reside at the center of galaxies can be hungry beasts. As dust and gas…