ScienceDaily: Black Hole News

Black hole powered jets plow into galaxy

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:14:14 EDT

The intense gravity of a supermassive black hole can be tapped to produce immense power in the form of jets moving at millions of miles per hour.

Milky Way black hole snacks on hot gas

Tue, 07 May 2013 20:15:15 EDT

The Herschel space observatory has made detailed observations of surprisingly hot gas that may be orbiting or falling towards the supermassive black hole lurking at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

New kind of cosmic flash may reveal birth of a black hole

Fri, 03 May 2013 23:04:04 EDT

According to an astrophysicist, a new kind of cosmic flash may reveal something never seen before: the birth of a black hole.

'Shockingly bright' burst of gamma rays from dying star in distant galaxy

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:15:15 EDT

A record-setting blast of gamma rays from a dying star in a distant galaxy has wowed astronomers around the world. The eruption, which is classified as a gamma-ray burst, or GRB, and designated GRB 130427A, produced the highest-energy light ever detected from such an event.

Using black holes to measure the universe's rate of expansion

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:30:30 EDT

Scientists have developed a method that uses black holes to measure distances of billions of light years with a high degree of accuracy. The ability to measure these distances will allow scientists to see further into the past of the universe than ever before.

Dying supergiant stars implicated in hours-long gamma-ray bursts

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:00:00 EDT

Three unusually long-lasting stellar explosions discovered by NASA's Swift satellite represent a previously unrecognized class of gamma-ray bursts. Two international teams of astronomers studying these events conclude that they likely arose from the catastrophic death of supergiant stars hundreds of times larger than the sun.

Strange new bursts of gamma rays point to a new way to destroy a star

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:47:47 EDT

Scientists have pinpointed a new type of exceptionally powerful and long-lived cosmic explosion, prompting a theory that they arise in the violent death throes of a supergiant star.

Sprial galaxy: Hidden depths of Messier 77 revealed

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:51:51 EDT

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured this vivid image of spiral galaxy Messier 77, one of the most famous and well-studied galaxies in the sky. The patches of red across this image highlight pockets of star formation along the pinwheeling arms, with dark dust lanes stretching across the galaxy's energetic center.

Curtains down for the black hole firewall paradox: Making gravity safe for Einstein again

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 08:41:41 EST

Scientists have revealed new insights into the life and death of black holes. Their findings dispel the so-called firewall paradox which shocked the physics community when it was announced in 2012 since its predictions about large black holes contradicted Einstein's crowning achievement -- the theory of general relativity. Those results suggested that anyone falling into a black hole would be burned up as they crossed its edge -- the so-called event horizon.

Black hole collision may have sparked celestial fireworks in the Milky Way several million years ago

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:32:32 EST

There is growing evidence that several million years ago the center of the Milky Way galaxy was site of all manner of celestial fireworks and a pair of astronomers propose that a single event -- a black hole collision -- can explain all the “forensic” clues.

Fermi's motion produces a study in spirograph

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:35:35 EST

NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope orbits our planet every 95 minutes, building up increasingly deeper views of the universe with every circuit. Its wide-eyed Large Area Telescope sweeps across the entire sky every three hours, capturing the highest-energy form of light -- gamma rays -- from sources across the universe. These range from supermassive black holes billions of light-years away to intriguing objects in our own galaxy, such as X-ray binaries, supernova remnants and pulsars.

NASA's NuSTAR helps solve riddle of black hole spin

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:25:25 EST

Two X-ray space observatories, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton, have teamed up to measure definitively, for the first time, the spin rate of a black hole with a mass 2 million times that of our sun.

Journey to the limits of space-time: Black hole simulations on supercomputers present new view of jets and accretion disks

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:16:16 EST

Black holes shape the growth and death of the stars around them through their powerful gravitational pull and explosive ejections of energy. In a recent article, researchers predicted the formation of accretion disks and relativistic jets that warp and bend more than previously thought, shaped by the extreme gravity of the black hole and by powerful magnetic forces generated by its spin.

Rare explosion created our galaxy's youngest black hole, study suggests

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 11:45:45 EST

New data suggest a highly distorted supernova remnant may contain the most recent black hole formed in the Milky Way galaxy. The remnant appears to be the product of a rare explosion in which matter is ejected at high speeds along the poles of a rotating star.

A spiral galaxy with a secret

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:37:37 EST

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope -- with a little help from an amateur astronomer -- has produced one of the best views yet of nearby spiral galaxy Messier 106. Located a little over 20 million light-years away, practically a neighbor by cosmic standards, Messier 106 is one of the brightest and nearest spiral galaxies to our own.

New method of measuring the mass of supermassive black holes

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:23:23 EST

Astronomers report the exciting discovery of a new way to measure the mass of supermassive black holes in galaxies. By measuring the speed with which carbon monoxide molecules orbit around such black holes, this new research opens the possibility of making these measurements in many more galaxies than ever before.

Did an 8th century gamma ray burst irradiate Earth?

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 08:32:32 EST

A nearby short duration gamma-ray burst may be the cause of an intense blast of high-energy radiation that hit the Earth in the 8th century, according to new research.

Microquasar makes a giant manatee nebula

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 18:50:50 EST

A new view of a 20,000-year old supernova remnant demonstrates the upgraded imaging power of the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array and provides more clues to the history of this giant cloud that resembles a beloved endangered species, the Florida Manatee.

Galaxy's gamma-ray flares erupted far from its black hole

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:50:50 EST

In 2011, a months-long blast of energy launched by an enormous black hole almost 11 billion years ago swept past Earth. Using a combination of data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and the National Science Foundation's Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), the world's largest radio telescope, astronomers have zeroed in on the source of this ancient outburst.

NASA's NuSTAR catches black holes in galaxy web

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:35:35 EST

NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, set its X-ray eyes on a spiral galaxy and caught the brilliant glow of two black holes lurking inside.

Detecting dusty clouds and stars: New radio wave technique uncovers shadows of clouds and stars in Milky Way's center

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:17:17 EST

Researchers have discovered a new tool for detecting dusty clouds and stars in the center of the Milky Way galaxy: simply take a picture using radio waves. Unlike in the optical, X-ray and infrared wavelengths, it is unusual to see a dark feature with radio waves. The technique has been used to identify so-called radio dark clouds and stars. Knowing details of these clouds is important because the clouds can produce stars.

From super to ultra: Just how big can black holes get?

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 14:30:30 EST

Some of the biggest black holes in the Universe may actually be even bigger than previously thought, according to a study using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.

How white dwarfs mimic black holes

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 09:13:13 EST

Astronomers have revealed that bright X-ray flares in nearby galaxies, once assumed to indicate the presence of black holes, can in fact be produced by white dwarfs. They made the discovery by detecting a dramatic, short-lived X-ray flare that was picked up by an X-ray telescope on the International Space Station.

Astronomers discover 'missing link' of black holes

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 13:07:07 EST

The discovery of a binging black hole in our nearest neighbouring galaxy, Andromeda, has shed new light on some of the brightest X-ray sources seen in other galaxies, according to a new article.

Black holes have properties that resemble dynamics of both solids and liquids

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 11:29:29 EST

Black holes are surrounded by many mysteries, but now researchers have come up with new groundbreaking theories that can explain several of their properties. The research shows that black holes have properties that resemble the dynamics of both solids and liquids.

X-ray vision can reveal moment of birth of violent supernovae

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 09:04:04 EST

Astronomers have uncovered new evidence that suggests that X-ray detectors in space could be the first to witness new supernovae that signal the death of massive stars.

Searching for the best black hole recipe

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 12:17:17 EST

In this holiday season of home cooking and carefully-honed recipes, some astronomers are asking: what is the best mix of ingredients for stars to make the largest number of plump black holes? They are tackling this problem by studying the number of black holes in galaxies with different compositions. One of these galaxies is the ring galaxy NGC 922 that was formed by the collision between two galaxies.

Galaxy-wide echoes from the past: VLT observations identify very rare new kind of galaxy

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 08:38:38 EST

A new galaxy class has been identified using observations from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), the Gemini South telescope, and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). Nicknamed “green bean galaxies” because of their unusual appearance, these galaxies glow in the intense light emitted from the surroundings of monster black holes and are amongst the rarest objects in the Universe.

Multi-wavelength view of radio galaxy Hercules A

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 09:29:29 EST

Spectacular jets are powered by the gravitational energy of a supermassive black hole in the core of the elliptical galaxy Hercules A.

Astronomers measure most massive, most unusual black hole

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:23:23 EST

Astronomers have measured what may be the most massive black hole yet -- 17 billion suns -- in galaxy NGC 1277. The black hole makes up 14 percent of its galaxy's mass, rather than the usual 0.1 percent. This galaxy and others in the study could change theories of how black holes and galaxies form and evolve.

Giant black hole could upset galaxy evolution models

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:21:21 EST

Astronomers have discovered a black hole that could shake the foundations of current models of galaxy evolution. At 17 billion times the mass of the Sun, its mass is much greater than current models predict – in particular since the surrounding galaxy is comparatively small. This could be the most massive black hole found to date.

Record-setting X-ray jet: X-rays from supermassive black hole 12.4 billion light years from Earth

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 12:15:15 EST

A jet of X-rays from a supermassive black hole 12.4 billion light years from Earth has been detected. This is the most distant X-ray jet ever observed and gives astronomers a glimpse into the explosive activity associated with the growth of supermassive black holes in the early universe.

Biggest black hole blast discovered: Most powerful quasar outflow ever found

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 09:37:37 EST

Astronomers have discovered a quasar with the most energetic outflow ever seen, at least five times more powerful than any that have been observed to date. Quasars are extremely bright galactic centers powered by supermassive black holes. Many blast huge amounts of material out into their host galaxies, and these outflows play a key role in the evolution of galaxies. But, until now, observed quasar outflows weren’t as powerful as predicted by theorists.

Super-massive black hole inflates giant bubble

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 08:18:18 EDT

Like symbiotic species, a galaxy and its central black hole lead intimately connected lives. The details of this relationship still pose many puzzles for astronomers.

Monster galaxy may have been stirred up by black-hole mischief

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:07:07 EDT

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have obtained a remarkable new view of a whopper of an elliptical galaxy that may have been puffed up by the actions of one or more black holes in its core.

Revealing a mini-supermassive black hole

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:09:09 EDT

One of the lowest mass supermassive black holes ever observed in the middle of a galaxy has now been identified. The host galaxy is of a type not expected to harbor supermassive black holes, suggesting that this black hole, while related to its supermassive cousins, may have a different origin.

NASA's NuSTAR spots flare from Milky Way's black hole

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:52:52 EDT

NASA's newest set of X-ray eyes in the sky, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), has caught its first look at the giant black hole parked at the center of our galaxy. The observations show the typically mild-mannered black hole during the middle of a flare-up.

Milky Way's black hole getting ready for snack

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 14:54:54 EDT

Get ready for a fascinating eating experience in the center of our galaxy. The event involves a black hole that may devour much of an approaching cloud of dust and gas known as G2. A supercomputer simulation prepared by physicists suggests that some of G2 will survive, although its surviving mass will be torn apart, leaving it with a different shape and questionable fate.

Astronomers study 2-million-light-year 'extragalactic afterburner'

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 07:14:14 EDT

Blasting over two million lights years from the centre of a distant galaxy is a supersonic jet of material that looks strikingly similar to the afterburner flow of a fighter jet, except in this case the jet engine is a supermassive black hole and the jet material is moving at nearly the speed of light.

New surveys peer through dust to reveal giant supermassive black holes

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 09:15:15 EDT

Scientists have used cutting-edge infrared surveys of the sky to discover a new population of enormous, rapidly growing supermassive black holes in the early Universe. The black holes were previously undetected because they sit cocooned within thick layers of dust. The new study has shown however that they are emitting vast amounts of radiation through violent interactions with their host galaxies.

NASA's Swift satellite discovers a new black hole in Milky Way galaxy

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:28:28 EDT

NASA's Swift satellite recently detected a rising tide of high-energy X-rays from a source toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The outburst, produced by a rare X-ray nova, announced the presence of a previously unknown stellar-mass black hole.

Star discovered racing around black hole at center of our galaxy: Crucial to revealing fabric of space and time

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 14:17:17 EDT

Astronomers report the discovery of a remarkable star that orbits the enormous black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy in a blistering 11-and-a-half years, the shortest known orbit of any star near this black hole.

Surprising black hole discovery changes picture of globular star clusters

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 13:21:21 EDT

An unexpected discovery is forcing scientists to rethink their understanding of the environment in globular star clusters, tight-knit collections containing hundreds of thousands of stars. The astronomers were studying a globular cluster called Messier 22 (M22), a group of stars more than 10,000 light-years from Earth. They hoped to find evidence of a rare type of black hole in the cluster's center called an intermediate-mass black hole, which is more massive than those larger than the Sun's mass, but smaller than the supermassive black holes found at the cores of galaxies. However, they found something very surprising - two smaller black holes, which is unusual because most theorists say there should be at most one black hole in the cluster.

Black hole surprise in ancient star cluster

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 13:21:21 EDT

The globular cluster M22 which has been found to unusually host two black holes. Image Credit: Hunter Wilson. Click to enlarge.

Case of missing quasar gas clouds now solved

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 19:04:04 EDT

The case of the missing quasar gas clouds has been solved. A new article describes 19 distant quasars whose giant clouds of gas seem to have disappeared in just a few years.

World's first glimpse of a black hole 'launchpad'

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:26:26 EDT

A strange thing about black holes: they shine. New research may shed light on the origin of the bright jets given off by some black holes. In a world first, scientists have been able to look at a distant black hole and resolve the area where its jets are launched from. This is the first empirical evidence to support the connection between black hole spin and black hole jets that has been long suspected on theoretical grounds.

Simulations uncover 'flashy' secrets of merging black holes

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 15:31:31 EDT

Researchers are using computational models to explore the mergers of supersized black holes. Their most recent work investigates what kind of "flash" might be seen by telescopes when astronomers ultimately find gravitational signals from such an event.

Measuring the universe’s 'exit door': For the first time, an international team has measured the radius of a black hole

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 14:45:45 EDT

The point of no return: In astronomy, it's known as a black hole -- a region in space where the pull of gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. Black holes that can be billions of times more massive than our sun may reside at the heart of most galaxies. Such supermassive black holes are so powerful that activity at their boundaries can ripple throughout their host galaxies. Now, an international team has for the first time measured the radius of a black hole at the center of a distant galaxy -- the closest distance at which matter can approach before being irretrievably pulled into the black hole.

Peering to the edge of a black hole

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 14:42:42 EDT

Using a continent-spanning telescope, an international team of astronomers has peered to the edge of a black hole at the center of a distant galaxy. For the first time, they have measured the black hole's "point of no return" -- the closest distance that matter can approach before being irretrievably pulled into the black hole.

Best constraint on mass of photons, using observations of super-massive black holes

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:26:26 EDT

A global team of scientists has determined the best constraint on the mass of photons so far, using observations of super-massive black holes. The researchers found a way to use astrophysical observations to test a fundamental aspect of the Standard Model -- namely, that photons have no mass -- better than anyone before.

Fireworks in the early universe: In star-forming galaxies, energy bursts from massive central black hole accretion

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 08:29:29 EDT

Galaxies in the early universe grew fast by rapidly making new stars. Such prodigious star formation episodes, characterized by the intense radiation of the newborn stars, were often accompanied by fireworks in the form of energy bursts caused by the massive central black hole accretion in these galaxies.

Spacetime ripples from dying black holes could help reveal how they formed

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 12:34:34 EDT

Researchers have discovered a new property of black holes: their dying tones could reveal the cosmic crash that produced them.

Planets can form in the galactic center

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:19:19 EDT

At first glance, the center of the Milky Way seems like a very inhospitable place to try to form a planet. Powerful gravitational forces from a supermassive black hole twist and warp the fabric of space itself. Yet new research by astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics shows that planets still can form in this cosmic maelstrom.

Odd galaxy couple on space voyage

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 09:25:25 EDT

Two very different galaxies drift through space together in a new image taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The peculiar galaxy pair is called Arp 116.

Hubble spots a supernova in NGC 5806

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:52:52 EDT

A new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows NGC 5806, a spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo (the Virgin). It lies around 80 million light years from Earth. Also visible in this image is a supernova explosion called SN 2004dg.

Bonanza of black holes, hot DOGs: NASA's WISE survey uncovers millions of black holes

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:45:45 EDT

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission has led to a bonanza of newfound supermassive black holes and extreme galaxies called hot DOGs, or dust-obscured galaxies. Images from the telescope have revealed millions of dusty black hole candidates across the universe and about 1,000 even dustier objects thought to be among the brightest galaxies ever found. These powerful galaxies, which burn brightly with infrared light, are nicknamed hot DOGs.

Spacetime: A smoother brew than we knew

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 11:15:15 EDT

Spacetime may be less like beer and more like sipping whiskey. Or so an intergalactic photo finish would suggest. Physicists reached this heady conclusion after studying the tracings of three photons of differing wavelengths that were recorded by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in May 2009. Photons from a gamma-ray burst jetted 7 billion light years across the universe and arrived at Earth in a dead heat, calling into question just how foamy the universe may be.

Intense bursts of star formation drive fierce galactic winds

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 09:44:44 EDT

Fierce galactic winds powered by an intense burst of star formation may blow gas right out of massive galaxies, shutting down their ability to make new stars.

Phoenix cluster sets record pace at forming stars

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:17:17 EDT

Astronomers have found an extraordinary galaxy cluster, one of the largest objects in the universe, that is breaking several important cosmic records. Observations of the Phoenix cluster with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the National Science Foundation's South Pole Telescope, and eight other world-class observatories may force astronomers to rethink how these colossal structures and the galaxies that inhabit them evolve.

'Cry' of a shredded star heralds a new era for testing relativity

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 18:39:39 EDT

Last year, astronomers discovered a quiescent black hole in a distant galaxy that erupted after shredding and consuming a passing star. Now researchers have identified a distinctive X-ray signal observed in the days following the outburst that comes from matter on the verge of falling into the black hole.