Topic: Black Holes
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In Pictures: Space photos of the day: In Technicolor
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In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Whirlpools
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In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Blowing in the Wind
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In Pictures: Space photos of the day: The Milky Way
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In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Black Holes
All Content
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How did supermassive black holes get so big? New data give a clue.
Scientists have now measured the spin of a supermassive black hole, describing the rate in terms of the energy needed to sustain the spin. These black holes are thought to occupy the center of virtually every galaxy.
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Astronomers clock supermassive black hole's spin for first time
How fast does a supermassive black hole spin? For the first time, scientists have made a reliable measurement of these behemoths, thought to be at the center of most, if not all, galaxies.
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At edge of black hole, a star Albert Einstein would have loved
Scientists have found a star orbiting very close to the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. It could help scientists give Einstein's brilliance one of its sternest tests yet.
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Star hurtling through space near humongous black hole could prove Einstein's theory
The discovery offers scientists a unique chance within the decade to test Einstein's theory of relativity in an extreme environment.
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Black holes: Scientists measure the point of no return
Using imaging of the galaxy M87, astronomers have for the first time measured the closest stable orbit within which matter can circle a black hole. They found that this innermost orbit measures 750 times the distance from the Earth to the sun.
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NASA telescope detects 'bonanza' of humongous black holes
NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey telescope has spotted millions of 'supermassive' black holes gorging on matter, says the space agency.
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Why a galaxy far, far away has shattered records for birthing stars
Astronomers identify a giant cluster of galaxies 5.7 billion light-years from Earth. At its core new stars are being formed at a rate that could explain how supermassive black holes govern a galaxy's growth.
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Multi-telescope view two million times sharper than human eye reveals black hole
Scientists spaced thousands of miles apart discovered a super massive black hole inside a quasar some five billion light-years from Earth
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What goes on at the edge of a black hole? NASA launches NuSTAR to find out. (+video)
NASA will launch the orbiting X-ray observatory NuSTAR Wednesday in hopes of plunging deeper into the secrets of black holes and supernovae.
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Galactic slam: Milky Way to hit nearby galaxy – in 4 billion years (+video)
The collision between the Milky Way and the nearby Andromeda galaxy will result in a single, enormous new elliptical galaxy, but not for another 6 billion years, researchers say.
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How do supermassive black holes get so big? A peculiar diet, perhaps.
New research suggests that the supermassive black holes at the cores of some galaxies could grow so large by consuming one star from a binary system and flinging the other into space.
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Supermassive black holes are cannibals, new research suggests
Astronomers have found black holes and supermassive black holes. But the discovery of a mid-size black hole could support the idea that supermassive black holes grow by eating others.
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How a black hole survived the destruction of its galaxy
The Hubble telescope has spotted the remains of a destroyed galaxy, whose sole remains consist of a black hole and a cloud of gas, which has spawned a cluster of new stars.
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Milky Way's enormous black hole gorges on asteroids (+video)
British astrophysicists think that asteroids are being devoured by the supernassive black hole at our galaxy's center, as evidenced by the daily X-ray flares detected by NASA's Chandra space telescope. Historical records indicate tha black hole may have even swallowed a planet.
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Cosmic cuisine: Giant gas blob on menu for Milky Way's black hole
Scientists who spotted a giant gas blob orbiting the black hole at the center of the Milky Way say they'll get a first-ever close-up view of matter falling into a supermassive black hole.
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Discovery of biggest black holes ever may shed light on galaxy formation
Black holes 10 billion times the sun's mass have been found. The discovery could help write the history of galaxy formation and evolution over the universe's 13.7 billion-year history.
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Monster black hole is nearly 10 billion times the mass of the sun
All large galaxies are thought to harbor super-massive black holes at their hearts that contain millions to billions of times the mass of our sun. Until now, the largest black hole known was a mammoth dwelling in the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87. Now research suggests black holes in two nearby galaxies are even bigger.
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ALMA telescope poised to peer into hidden corners of the cosmos
The ALMA radio telescope array set to come on line this week will give astronomers an unprecedented look into areas of the universe obscured from other telescopes – from star nurseries in other galaxies to the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
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Giant black holes a window into origins of earliest galaxies
Scientists have found evidence of supermassive black holes at the core of the earliest galaxies, a discovery that could shape theories about galaxy formation.
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In Pictures: Space photos of the day: In Technicolor
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Scientists investigate intergalactic space blob: What is it?
A schoolteacher discovered a blob of glowing hydrogen gas – called Hanny's Voorwerp in her honor – that astronomers say points to a nearly-invisible quenched quasar.
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In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Whirlpools
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In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Blowing in the Wind
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Milky Way bubbles could signal massive black hole eruption
Milky Way bubbles: The mysterious structures each span 25,000 light-years across, meaning that together they cover more than half the area of the visible sky, and are emitting gamma rays, the highest-energy wavelength of light.
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In Pictures: Space photos of the day: The Milky Way
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