Black hole

Exactly why and how the expansion of the universe is accelerating remains unknown. One hypothesis blames strange black-hole-like objects made of dark energy, and now astrophysicists have theorized how these objects work and where they all went.

The LIGO and Virgo Scientific Collaboration has detected gravitational waves coming from the most massive black hole collision that it's ever recorded. The end result created a gargantuan black hole that belongs to a new class.

“Strange metals” exhibit some unusual conductive properties and surprisingly, even have things in common with black holes. Now, a new study has characterized them in more detail, and found that strange metals constitute a new state of matter.

Despite the name, black holes often shine very bright in the sky, due to their hot glowing corona. Now, astronomers have been puzzled to watch a black hole’s corona suddenly vanish – and if that wasn’t weird enough, it reappeared a few months later.

Could there be a tiny black hole hiding in our own backyard? It’s been suggested that the hypothetical Planet Nine is actually a black hole, and now astronomers have proposed how we might find it in the next few years, using an upcoming telescope.

Astronomers have observed a bright flash of light from space, which appears to have come from a collision between two black holes. And that’s surprising, considering that black holes are famously dark objects.

In an experiment, scientists at the University of Glasgow have confirmed a half-century-old theory previously thought impossible to test, which claims a super-advanced alien civilization could use a black hole as an energy source.

The LIGO-Virgo collaboration has reported a very strange gravitational wave signal. This signal appears to have come from a black hole swallowing some unknown object, with a mass that sits in a range thought to be empty.

Astronomers investigating gamma ray emissions have discovered that certain active galaxies are giving off bursts in regular patterns. This, the team says, could be an indication of galaxies harboring two supermassive black holes in their centers.

New clues have been uncovered in the mystery of fast radio bursts. One of these strange signals has been repeating seemingly at random – but years of observation has now found a pattern hidden in the noise, which could help reveal what causes them.

The universe is full of explosions, and now astronomers have described a brand new class of space signals. Named fast blue optical transients (FBOTs), these events are very bright and throw off incredible amounts of energy in a short amount of time.

The closest black hole to our solar system has been discovered a mere 1,000 light-years from Earth, and orbits with two companion stars that are visible to the naked eye without the aid of a telescope or binoculars.