black holes

Science

Center Of The Milky Way Has Thousands Of Black Holes, Study Shows

6:11pm April 04, 2018

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The supermassive black hole lurking at the center of our galaxy appears to have a lot of company, according to a new study that suggests the monster is surrounded by about 10,000 other black holes.

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Artist's rendering of the first planet outside of our solar system to be imaged orbiting a brown dwarf star, called the 2M1207 system.

Science

Is Humanity Unusual In The Cosmos?

12:28pm April 02, 2018

by Adam Frank

Commentator Adam Frank talks with Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb about exo-civilizations, techno-signatures, and the search for alien life — living or long-gone.

Science

The Universe According To Albert Einstein: Relativity

3:28pm March 14, 2018

by Marcelo Gleiser

When Einstein, born 139 years ago on Wednesday, came onto the science scene, physics was in crisis. New ideas were badly needed — it was the perfect moment for a trailblazer, says Marcelo Gleiser.

An image from Clifford Johnson's The Dialogues: Conversations about the Nature of the Universe.

'The Dialogues' Takes On Physics And Reality In Words And Pictures

11:21am February 23, 2018

by Adam Frank

Commentator Adam Frank interviews physicist Clifford Johnson, who has taken a new approach to the exploration of questions about the nature of the universe — the graphic novel.

Image of galaxy SDSS J1354+1327 (lower center) and its companion galaxy SDSS J1354+1328 (upper right). The inset panel to the right is a four-color image that combines Hubble exposures with Chandra X-ray observations.

Science

Researchers Spot Massive Black Hole In Double 'Burp'

9:19am January 12, 2018

by Scott Neuman

The cosmic sinkhole is at the center of a galaxy 800 million light-years from Earth and supports the theory that such objects can switch their power output on and off in relatively short time-scales.

The collision of two neutron stars, seen in an artist's rendering, created both gravitational waves and gamma rays. Researchers used those signals to locate the event with optical telescopes.

Astronomers Strike Gravitational Gold In Colliding Neutron Stars

4:44pm October 16, 2017

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

In an astonishing discovery, astronomers used gravitational waves to locate two neutron stars smashing together. The collision created 200 Earth masses of pure gold, along with other elements.

Einstein realized that if masses moved about, the deformations in space would also move about, propagating like waves, somewhat like what happens when you throw a rock on a pond. But, gravity being such a weak force, the effect is truly tiny and needs som

Science

Nobel Winners' Work In Physics Began With Albert Einstein

1:08pm October 03, 2017

by Marcelo Gleiser

Three scientists won the prize after a 25-year-long search of the cosmos for gravitational waves — the waving of space — the one test missing for Einstein, says astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser.

An artist's rendering of a black hole that's 2 billion times more massive than our sun. Streams of particles ejected from black holes like this one are thought to be the brightest objects in the universe.

Some Bizarre Black Holes Put On Light Shows

4:39pm January 04, 2017

by Rae Ellen Bichell

Black holes aren't all doom and gloom. Some of these incredibly dense matter-suckers fling powerful jets of light and charged particles — the space version of a fireworks show.

The Laser Interferometer Gravity-Wave Observatory looks for tiny changes in the length of the structure's 2.5-mile-long arms. There are two detectors: one in Washington and one in Louisiana (pictured). This photo was taken before severe flooding that has

How To Catch The Biggest Wave In The Universe

10:36am August 17, 2016

by Geoff Brumfiel

An L-shaped machine in Louisiana is hunting for some of the most powerful waves in existence: gravitational waves. This wave detector acts like a giant tape measure to capture bends in space and time.

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The black holes were 14 and 8 times the mass of the sun. As they spiraled together, they sent out gravitational waves.

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Gravitational Waves From Colliding Black Holes Shake Scientists' Detectors Again

4:40pm June 15, 2016

by Geoff Brumfiel

For the second time in recent months, scientists say they have picked up distortions in space and time. The find suggests smaller-sized black holes may be more numerous than many scientists thought.

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