Scientists used gravitational-wave data to detect the merger of two smaller black holes and the formation of a larger one. The larger black hole is still smaller than a supermassive black hole, but it’s larger than any “standard” black hole. This new type of black hole, called an “intermediate-mass black hole” is the first of …
An unseen object appears to be interacting with other objects along the edge of our solar system, and researchers don’t know exactly what it is. Theories of “planet nine” have been proposed, but others believe it may be a tiny black hole. Researchers plan on scanning the skies for evidence of the black hole using …
Researchers examined a bright flash they detected at a location thought to be the home of a black hole. The scientists provide evidence that the black hole may have collided with another, producing an unexpected flare in space. Black holes are typically invisible, swallowing up everything around them, including light. Black holes in space are …
A black hole smacked into something that scientists can’t explain, a new study reveals. The object sits between the known mass limits of neutron stars and black holes, so it technically shouldn’t exist. Researchers say additional observations will be needed before they can classify this new mass range as either a black hole, neutron star, …
Astronomers have rediscovered the heartbeat of a black hole that was first detected back in 2007. The pulsing wave of energy is thought to be the result of the black hole swallowing up surrounding material, but its steady beat is extremely unusual. The black hole’s heart “beats” once every hour, and has for at least …
The black hole at the center of our galaxy is blinking at us, and scientists think they know why. In a new researcher paper, astronomers explain that a disk of material surrounding the black hole may be producing flashes due to “hot spots” that form within it. The research was published in Astrophysical Journal Letters. …
A black hole was discovered lurking quietly in a system just 1,000 light-years from Earth. The black hole, which is part of the system called HR 6819, is the closest black hole scientists have ever spotted. The researchers suggest that there are likely other black holes hiding nearby, invisible to us. Visit BGR’s homepage for …
Astronomers from the Event Horizon Telescope project have released images of a distant quasar with its black hole spewing material into space. The images were gathered by telescopes all over the planet, acting together to peer deep into space. The images reveal mysteries about the jet of fast-moving material leaving the black hole, and researchers …
A black hole carved a hole right through the Ophiuchus galaxy cluster, which is located some 390 million light years from Earth. Astronomers believe the explosion is the largest ever observed, besting the previous record-holder by a factor of five. The discovery is the subject of a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal. Visit BGR’s …
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has spent the majority of its life studying the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. It was tasked with traveling to the asteroid, orbiting it, and eventually snatching samples so it could return that material to Earth. Spotting distant black holes wasn’t initially part of the plan, but as NASA explains in a new blog …
