The Cloverleaf
The Cloverleaf is a 17th-magnitude quasar whose image has been reproduced four times through gravitational lensing — an occurrence caused by the powerful gravitational field of a massive, intervening...
View ArticlePG 1634+706
PG 1634+706 is the most distant object in the universe visible in an amateur telescope. This quasar, located in Draco, varies from magnitude 14.2 to 14.7. If you can see Pluto in your scope, you can...
View Article3C 273
Observing 3C 273 is a lot like observing Pluto. In both cases, you’ll only see a faint point of light, but the observations are meaningful because of what the objects are. In the case of 3C 273, you’re...
View ArticleScientists find a direct link from the death of massive stars to black holes...
In 2022, the light of a supernova 75 million light-years away reached Earth. And as astronomers piece more and more together about the event, they’re running into a few things that make it more than...
View ArticleJWST detects possible aurora on distant brown dwarf
On an isolated, cold brown dwarf 47 light-years away, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) picked up the signs of methane. But while the gas isn’t unusual on the gigantic worlds, JWST detected...
View ArticleJWST finds oldest black hole ever seen, and it’s hungry
Within GN-z11, a galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major, astrophysicists have discovered the oldest black hole, weighing in at a few million times the mass of the Sun. It lives at the galaxy’s center...
View ArticleScientists trace unusual fast radio burst to ‘blob’ of dwarf galaxies
Since they first were discovered in 2007, fast radio bursts (FRBs) have vexed astronomers. Just as the name implies, they’re fast (on the order of millisecond) flashes of energy in the radio part of...
View ArticleJWST turns up even more heavier-than-expected black holes
In the two years since the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) launched, astronomers are learning one thing: The early universe is a lot weirder than we thought. JWST, which is the largest space...
View ArticleScientists discover 12 star-gobbling black holes shining in infrared light
At the heart of nearly all large galaxies lies a supermassive black hole (SMBH). Some of these black holes may be steadily feeding on surrounding gas and dust, while others lie incognito with barely...
View ArticleThe 2nd photo of the M87 black hole is stunning, and more than a pretty picture
What do you get for staring into the abyss of a black hole for year? Insights into the fundamental workings of gravity. In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) made headlines with a monumental...
View Article50 years ago, a first hint of the beast lurking in the heart of the Milky Way
Finding the Milky Way in the night sky is fairly easy. A short stroll to a dark, isolated location affords a ready snapshot of its splendor, as a small fraction of its 100 billion to 400 billion stars...
View ArticleThis quasar eats one Sun a day for breakfast
Astrophysicists just spotted the brightest and fastest-growing supermassive black hole — and it turns out, it was hiding in plain sight for decades. Dubbed J0529-4351, the quasar was so bright that it...
View ArticleCould you travel through a black hole? This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher
Traveling into (or very near to) a black hole is the premise for a lot of fun science-fiction stories and films. But how far could you make it? Could you survive crossing the event horizon? And what...
View ArticleJWST’s new look at Supernova 1987A reveals a neutron star
In 1987, astronomers had an incredible front-row seat to a cosmic event that maybe isn’t rare, but rarely happens near us. Just 168,000 light-years away, on February 23 of that year, a star in the...
View ArticleHow does a black hole get to the center of a galaxy, and does the galaxy...
If a black hole begins as a star somewhere in a galaxy, how does it end up in the galaxy’s center? Is the gravitational pull so strong that all the stars in the galaxy start revolving around it? Paul...
View ArticleNOIRLab releases jaw-dropping images, video of remnants from massive star...
The Vela supernova exploded into a vast array of delicate filaments and veils of gas almost 11,000 years ago. Now, you can explore the glowing, gassy aftermath in a dazzling new portrait of the cosmic...
View ArticleThe oddities known as Centaurs may sprout their tales after jumping to new...
In 1977, astronomer Charles Kowal discovered a strange, asteroid-like rocky object in the outer solar system. It was traveling slowly, as if orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune. This raised some eyebrows,...
View ArticleThese supermassive black holes, equal to 28 billion Suns, are the heaviest...
Two supermassive black holes — comprising a binary system — are locked in a chicken fight so intense that it has come to a standstill. And rather than merging, this fight has dragged on for over three...
View ArticleThe rumblings that led to the ‘alien spheres’ probably came from a truck
Seismic activity from a meteorite that landed in the Pacific Ocean in 2014 led to an underwater expedition and speculation from some the meteorite might be of interstellar origin. A new study suggests...
View ArticleThe Milky Way’s central black hole could have a hidden jet
At 4 million times the mass of the Sun, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy is rather humdrum, as far as supermassive black holes go. But a new analysis reveals that it’s a lot more...
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