New Atlas

Space Audio available

Astronomers spot new bumper crop of supermassive black holes in the early universe

Michael Irving March 13, 2019

To look through space is to look through time. Astronomers on a 5-years survey have turned up 100 supermassive black holes from a time when they were thought to be rare, suggesting we might need to rewrite our understanding of their evolution.

Space Audio available

Brightest quasar ever found shines with the intensity of 600 trillion Suns

Michael Irving January 13, 2019

The Sun is a mere 10-watt bulb compared to quasars, extremely luminous galactic cores that shine so intensely thanks to their ravenous hunger for nearby material. Now, astronomers have detected the brightest quasar ever found, shining with the light of almost 600 trillion Suns.

An artist's rendering of the quasar J043947.08+163415.7, the brightest known quasar with the luminosity of 600 ...

Space

Brightest-known galaxy is cannibalizing its three neighbors

Michael Irving November 15, 2018

The galaxy W2246-0526 sits 12.4 billion light-years from Earth – almost the entire radius of the observable universe – and is the most luminous galaxy ever discovered, with the brightness of 350 trillion Suns. Now, astronomers have found that W2246-0526 is cannibalizing three neighboring galaxies.

An artist's rendition of W2246-0526, the brightest-known galaxy that is cannibalizing three neighboring galaxies

Physics Audio available

Quasars may prove quantum entanglement – or a 12 billion-year-old conspiracy

Michael Irving August 21, 2018

Quantum entanglement is an eerie concept that Einstein himself had trouble accepting, and yet it’s been experimentally demonstrated. To find out whether there are other variables, a new experiment provides the strongest evidence so far of quantum entanglement or a 12-billion year “conspiracy."

Light from distant quasars has been used as a cosmic "coin flip" to help provide the ...

Physics

X-rays from deep space help track down the universe's missing matter

Michael Irving June 21, 2018

Ordinary (or baryonic) matter is relatively rare in the universe, and there seems to be a huge chunk of it missing. After 20 years of scouring the sky, astronomers using the ESA’s XMM-Newton observatory have now found clues to this missing matter hiding in intergalactic gas.

Astronomers have found evidence of the universe's "missing matter" lurking in intergalactic gas between filaments of ...

Space

Fastest-growing supermassive black hole eats a sun every two days

Michael Irving May 15, 2018

Astronomers at Australian National University have spotted a black hole so bright that were it in our home galaxy, it would outshine all the stars in the sky. This supermassive monster also happens to be the fastest-growing black hole ever seen, devouring the equivalent of the Sun every two days.

Astronomers have spotted the fastest-growing – and one of the brightest – supermassive black holes

Space

Mysterious black hole discovered at the dawn of the universe

Michael Irving December 6, 2017

At a distance of about 13 billion lightyears, the most distant supermassive black hole known so far has been spotted. That incredible distance means it dates back to when the first stars blinked on, which raises the question of how a black hole that big arose so soon after the universe began.

An artist's rendition of the most distant quasar discovered, which accrued a mass of 800 Suns ...

Space

Brightest galaxy ever discovered may be tearing itself apart

Anthony Wood January 19, 2016

The brightest galaxy ever discovered may be in the process of tearing itself apart. WISE J224607.57-052635.0 (W2246-0526) is believed to be brighter than 300 trillion Suns, however the supermassive black hole at the centre of the galaxy could also be responsible for a drastic transformation.

Artist's impression of WISE J224607.57-052635.0

Space

Scientists find brightest night light circling impossibly huge black hole

Eric Mack February 27, 2015

A team of scientists from China and Arizona have spotted the brightest quasar from the early universe, centered on a black hole 12.8 billion light years away and as bright as 420 trillion suns.

An artist's impression of a quasar (Image: ESO/MKornmesser)

Space

VLT telescope reveals mysterious alignment of quasars with the Universe’s large-scale structure

Chris Wood November 21, 2014

Astronomers using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) have discovered an alignment of supermassive black holes located billions of light-years apart. The team delved deeper, finding that the quasars aren’t just linked to each other, but are also aligned with the large-scale structure of the Universe.

An artist's impression of the alignment of quasars with the large-scale structure of the Universe (Image: ...