Black hole

Astronomers have taken a close-up image of a jet emitted by a supermassive black hole for the first time. The Event Horizon Telescope has zoomed in on the jet with 16 times the resolution and at 10 times higher frequencies than previous observations.

Astronomers have detected the final piece of the gravitational wave trifecta – a black hole swallowing a neutron star. Two separate events rolled in just days apart, with the black holes gobbling up the stars like Pac-Man rather than Cookie Monster.

Supermassive black holes are thought to grow slowly over billions of years – but how did they appear so early in the universe’s lifetime? A new origin story suggests black hole seeds were created by halos of self-interacting dark matter collapsing.

Japanese astronomers have discovered the echoes of a “dying” supermassive black hole. While the object is quiet now, the team spotted the signatures of two huge radio jets that indicate it only recently fell silent after a bright, active phase.

The Milky Way is thought to host a supermassive black hole in its center – but perhaps its dark heart is made of different stuff. A new study proposes that it could instead be a core of dark matter made up of hypothetical particles called “darkinos.”

Astronomers have discovered a black hole that may set a new record or two – it seems to be both the smallest black hole ever detected, and the closest one to Earth found so far. It's only 1,500 light-years away and has a mass of just three Suns.

With elusive dark matter continuing to evade detection, scientists are having to search in stranger and stranger places. In a new study, physicists at MIT have studied the spins of black holes for signs of drag from dark matter slowing them down.

Supermassive black holes create turbulent environments at the centers of galaxies, which should disrupt star formation. But astronomers have peered closer at the heart of the Milky Way and found several “stellar eggs” – and they seem to be hatching.

Two years ago, astronomers revealed the first-ever direct images of a black hole. Now, the collaboration behind the historic image has released a new version that shows the polarization of the light around the object.

Supermassive black holes are usually stationary objects, thanks to their huge masses anchoring them in place. But now, astronomers have found evidence of a supermassive monster on the move within its home galaxy.

How exactly supermassive black holes got so big remains a mystery, but a new study suggests they may have been born from supernovae of hypothetical, primordial stars far bigger than any around today. And we might soon be able to detect the leftovers.

Last year gravitational waves were detected from a massive black hole collision. But now astrophysicists propose a new explanation: a collision of two boson stars – hypothetical, invisible objects that could help untangle the mystery of dark matter.