Astronomers Discover Heaviest Stellar Black Hole in the Milky Way
The supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the Milky Way, but a newly spotted object takes the crown for the most…
New Image Exposes Intense Magnetic Field of the Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole
A new image of our galaxy’s central black hole reveals the magnetic field surrounding the object in polarized light. The image reveals how gas and superheated matter in the immediate…
This App Points You Straight at the Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole
If you want to stay grounded—which is to say, you want a haunting reminder of your own diminutive size and mortality—do I have the tool for you. Meet Galactic Compass:…
The Heart of the Milky Way Glows With Unprecedented Detail in New Webb Image
The center of our galaxy is a menagerie of exotic objects; a supermassive black hole, clouds of hot gas, and giant stars that can help inform the origin story of…
X-Ray Telescope Spots Black Hole Slowly Devouring a Star
On June 22, 2022, NASA’s Swift Observatory spotted something curious in a galaxy over 500 million light-years away. It was a routine outburst of gas that a team studying the…
Meet the ‘Event Horizon Explorer’, Which Aims to See Light Rings Around Black Holes
Astronomers transfixed the public in April 2019 when they released the first-ever image of a black hole, produced by radio wave data from a collaboration of telescopes around the world…
Astronomers Surprised By a Distant Black Hole Roaring Back to Life
Black holes often sit at the centers of galaxies, where they can gorge themselves on the superheated material that falls into their abyssal event horizons. Now, a team of astronomers…
There’s a bubble of hot gas zipping around our galaxy’s supermassive black hole
Scientists have discovered a bubble of hot gas whipping around our galaxy’s supermassive black hole at tremendous speed.
Black holes all look like donuts, regardless of their size
The image of the black hole at the center of our galaxy isn’t only an incredible scientific achievement – it also agrees precisely with predictions.
Research confirms enormous mass of supermassive black hole at center of galaxy
A new study reveals the most precise information yet about the mass of the enormous black hole at the center of our galaxy.