Supermassive Black Hole (SMBH)
The Stellar Demolition Derby in the Centre of the Galaxy
The region near the Milky Way's centre is dominated by the supermassive black hole that resides there. Sagittarius A*'s overwhelming…
A Black Hole Has Cleared Out Its Neighbourhood
We can't see them directly, but we know they're there. Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) likely dwell at the center of…
A Black Hole Nibbles on a Star Every 22 Days, Slowly Consuming it
Astronomers working with NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory have spotted something unusual. The observatory's X-Ray Telescope (XRT) has captured emissions…
M87 Galaxy Reconstructed in Thrilling 3D
In astronomy, we speak casually of extremely large numbers and extremely vast distances as if they're trivial. A supermassive black…
Astronomers Spot a Rogue Supermassive Black Hole, Hurtling Through Space Leaving Star Formation in its Wake
Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) lurk in the center of large galaxies like ours. From their commanding position in the galaxy's…
Hungry Black Hole was Already Feasting 800 Million Years After the Big Bang
Black holes swallow everything—including light—which explains why we can't see them. But we can observe their immediate surroundings and learn…
The Donut That Used To Be a Star
The death of a star is one of the most dramatic natural events in the Universe. Some stars die in…
A Black Hole is Savoring its Meal, Feeding on the Same Star Over and Over Again
Something extraordinary happens about every 10,000 to 100,000 years in galaxies like the Milky Way. An unwary star approaches the…
A Black Hole Consumed a Star and Released the Light of a Trillion Suns
When a flash of light appears somewhere in the sky, astronomers notice. When it appears in a region of the…
IceCube Senses Neutrinos Streaming From an Active Galaxy 47 Million Light-Years Away
Researchers using the IceCube Neutrino Observatory have detected neutrinos emanating from the energetic core of an active galaxy millions of…