UGC 3478, featured in this Hubble Space Telescope image, is a Seyfert galaxy characterized by its bright active galactic nucleus containing a supermassive black hole. Located relatively close at 128 million light-years, its emitted X-rays…
Researchers have observed a supermassive black hole savoring its last meal as only pieces of the object are being torn off every year it passes by. Continue reading at TweakTown >
A team of astronomers has observed a star in a distant galaxy repeatedly interacting with a supermassive black hole. Initially thought to be destroyed in 2018, the star survived and has since made periodic close passes, leading to…
Supermassive black holes that shred and devour stars throw them up like a "bad curry" and cover themselves in the wreckage, sick new simulations reveal.
Stars that wander too close to supermassive black holes may be violently undone in a process called "spaghettification." New simulations provide the most detailed look ever at the gory interaction.
The "deaths" of galaxies are caused by their central supermassive black holes, and the "smoking gun" evidence of this connection takes an unexpected form.
Monash University astronomers have contributed to a breakthrough in understanding the dramatic fate of stars that wander too close to supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies.
If a star gets too close to a black hole, it gets shredded and produces a complex ball of light. These videos are the first time this dramatic event has been simulated in detail.
New findings reveal a star’s perilous journey around a supermassive black hole, resulting in periodic disruptions and intense light emissions, helping astronomers predict future cosmic events. Astronomers have correctly predicted when a…
A new study helps solve the "final parsec problem" that has made supermassive black hole formation impossible to explain, pointing to a strange form of dark matter as the key.
Using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, and ESA's XMM-Newton, researchers have gained significant insights into the timing and process of how a supermassive black hole consumes material, as…
By using new data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory as well as ESA's XMM-Newton, a team of researchers has made important headway in understanding how—and when—a supermassive black hole obtains and…