Black holes
Latest about Black holes
![A swirling circle of reddish striations on the left. On the right is a diagram showing those striations' movements.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5da8RqUt6oVr7d2DUoAoGS-320-80.png)
Scientists use AI to reconstruct energetic flare blasted from Milky Way's supermassive black hole
By Robert Lea published
Combining AI and observations of the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, scientists have reconstructed a 3D video of Sagittarius A* and its environment.
![illustration showing a bright ball of white light in deep space, with a blue arc curving away from it](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XDmeMfSQYdxGJYXFXYPY3i-320-80.png)
Record breaker! Milky Way's most monstrous stellar-mass black hole is sleeping giant lurking close to Earth (Video)
By Robert Lea last updated
Astronomers have discovered the most massive stellar-born black hole ever seen in the Milky Way, and it lies relatively close to Earth.
![(Main) a view of the distant quasar SDSS J114816.64+525150.3 located 12.9 billion light-years away (inset) an illustration of a quasar](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cruMKGwskHCmqry6MNbjyS-320-80.png)
Monster black hole seen feeding on nearby matter just 1 billion years after Big Bang (photos)
By Robert Lea published
The robotic telescopes of the Virtual Telescope Project have observed a quasar powered by a supermassive black hole 3 billion times as massive as the sun at the very edge of the universe
![a black hole illustration with two black holes within one.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/J8KEaRxCEJipi9A8TGkwsn-320-80.jpg)
Do black holes hide the secrets of their ancestors?
By Robert Lea published
Some black holes are so massive they were likely created as smaller black holes that merged. Maybe we can use such black hole "children" to learn about the black hole "ancestors."
![Lots of small black holes of varying sizes against a hazy blue and purple background of space.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XsaWoUNwD2os4gADQgB6gd-320-80.png)
Tiny black holes left over from the Big Bang may be prime dark matter suspects
By Robert Lea published
Don't rule out primordial black holes as dark matter suspects just yet! Particle-sized black holes may resist evaporation, surviving long enough to account for the universe's most mysterious stuff.
![artist's illustration of a black hole devouring a star, generating a pinkish swirl of gas and dust in deep space](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FqJtbN6BPzufD5rkf5misk-320-80.png)
Why are some supermassive black hole jets so short? Astronomers may have cracked the case
By Robert Lea published
New observations provide an intriguing window into what happens when a slumbering black hole awakens to devour a star.
![A composite image of the quasar H1821+643, with X-ray data from Chandra in blue and radio wavelength data from the Very Large Array in red showing the lobes of the radio jets, which are aimed almost directly at us.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tj4Zww255x43oXo2xvFi5Y-320-80.jpg)
Most quasars are a ferocious force of nature, but not this one
By Keith Cooper published
A quasar over three billion light-years away was found to be rather gentle on its host galaxy, allowing its black hole to keep growing.
![A large black hole has a spinning disk around it. It also has a magnetic field represented as an orange cone on top and bottom of the black hole. A tiny black hole punches in and out through the disk as it orbits the larger one. Plum es from the large disk emerge when the tiny black hole travels. The plumes are especially strong in the magnetic fields](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/weAqJFtSyM4y3avKcggVcS-320-80.png)
Supermassive black hole’s mysterious hiccups' likely caused by neighboring black hole's 'punches'
By Robert Lea published
A black hole may be punching through the disk of gas and dust surrounding a supermassive black hole, causing its giant neighbor to "hiccup."
![The supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way Sgr A* seen in polarized light for the first time](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yMquMe4srNd7YKaBJUmqw6-320-80.png)
New view of the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way hints at an exciting hidden feature (image)
By Robert Lea published
Astronomers have for the first time imaged the powerful magnetic fields that dwell around the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A*.
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