New Atlas

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First direct images of supermassive black hole released

Anthony Wood April 10, 2019

Astronomers have released what could be the historic first images of a supermassive black hole’s event horizon. The enormous black hole is located within the large galaxy M87, and was imaged by a network of powerful observatories that formed a single planet-sized virtual telescope.

The first direct visual evidence of a supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy ...

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Gigantic dusty donut around a black hole imaged for the first time

Michael Irving April 5, 2019

Active galactic nuclei are known by different names depending on the viewing angle. Now, for the first time astronomers have directly imaged the last piece of the puzzle that ties them all together – a dusty donut of material that surrounds a supermassive black hole.

An illustration of a torus around an active galactic nucleus, which has been imaged directly for ...

Space Audio available

Colossal X-ray "chimneys" discovered at center of the Milky Way

Michael Irving March 20, 2019

It's hard to really understand the large-scale structure of the Milky Way. Now, astronomers have peered towards the center of the galaxy using the ESA's X-ray telescope XMM-Newton, and discovered two colossal "chimneys" pumping huge amounts of energy and gas out into intergalactic space.

An artist's impression of two huge "chimneys" spewing energetic particles out of the center of the ...

Space

Massive hypervelocity star escaping Milky Way hints at presence of hidden black hole

Anthony Wood March 13, 2019

A team of astronomers has managed to find the origin of an enormous star that is currently barreling out of the Milky Way having escaped from one of our galaxy’s spiral arms. The discovery challenges the theory that such stars come from the galactic center.

NASA graphic showing the structure of the Milky Way

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Doomed, rare black hole spotted near the center of the galaxy

Michael Irving March 3, 2019

Black holes tend to fall into two categories: fairly small or supermassive. It’s long been believed that there should be a middle class, and in recent years astronomers have found evidence of these “intermediate mass” black holes. Now a Japanese team has located one near the center of the Milky Way.

Japanese astronomers have discovered a rare type of black hole near the center of the Milky ...

Space

Sharper images of a supermassive black hole reveal new secrets

Michael Irving January 23, 2019

A team of astronomers has used a global array of telescopes to peer through the fog and capture some of the clearest radio images yet of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. And it may indicate that the object just happens to be pointing directly at Earth.

An artist's rendition of a supermassive black hole, such as the one at the center of ...

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Astronomers witness strange space "Cow" give birth to a black hole

Michael Irving January 10, 2019

In June 2018, a bright light burst in Northern Hemisphere skies. At first it looked like any other supernova, but soon turned out to be far weirder. Known as AT2018cow (or “The Cow”), astronomers now believe they’ve captured an unprecedented look at the birth of a black hole or a neutron star.

At2018cow, or The Cow, as seen about 80 days after it first exploded

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Revolutionary new telescope picks up 13 fast radio burst signals, including one repeater

Michael Irving January 9, 2019

The CHIME telescope has picked up 13 unexplained radio signals coming from beyond the Milky Way. These fast radio bursts are part of one of the strangest mysteries of modern astronomy, but the new detections could help unlock their source, thanks to a rare one that seems to be repeating.

The revolutionary radio telescope CHIME has now detected 13 new fast radio burst signals, including a ...

Physics Audio available

Most powerful gravitational waves event stands out among four new detections

Michael Irving December 3, 2018

Gravitational waves are ripples in the very fabric of spacetime, caused by some of the biggest cataclysms in the cosmos. Now, an international team of scientists has presented the full catalog of these events, gathered over the last few years across two observation runs.

An artist's impression of two neutron stars on a collision course – a cataclysm that produces ...

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Hubble snaps clearest ever shots of cataclysmic cosmic collisions

Michael Irving November 11, 2018

Galaxies smash into each other on a pretty regular basis, usually merging together. Using data and observations from Hubble and the Keck Observatory, astronomers have now imaged the late stages of this incredibly slow process for the first time.

Astronomers have observed pairs of supermassive black holes closer to colliding than ever before