Astronomers have found an enormous hole in the Universe, nearly a billion light-years across, empty of both normal matter such as stars, galaxies, and gas, and the mysterious, unseen "dark matter." While earlier studies have shown holes, or voids, in the large-scale structure of the Universe, this new discovery dwarfs them all. picked by 2manyusernames 1 year ago

New research shows that black holes are not the ultimate destroyers that are often portrayed in popular culture. Instead, warm gas escaping from the clutches of enormous black holes could be one source of the chemical elements that make life possible. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

A half-dozen hefty black holes hide out where they are least expected, in relatively skinny galaxies. The discovery implies galaxies don't need bulging bellies to harbor monstrous black holes. picked by AutumnLotus 9 months ago

New research shows that black holes are not the ultimate destroyers that are often portrayed in popular culture. Instead, warm gas escaping from the clutches of enormous black holes could be one source of the chemical elements that make life possible. picked by dork 1 year ago

A team of astronomers looking at the universe’s distant past found nine young, unusually compact galaxies, each weighing in at 200 billion times the mass of the Sun.

These young galaxies are the equivalent of a human baby that is 20 inches long, yet weighs 180 pounds. picked by AutumnLotus 5 months ago

Researchers from Duke University and the University of Cambridge think there is a way to determine whether some black holes are not actually black. Finding such an unmasked form of what physicists term a singularity "would shock the foundation of general relativity." picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

The most energetic particles in the universe likely come from enormous black holes nestled in the restless hearts of traumatized galaxies, scientists say. Where these cosmic "bullets" originated has been a source of much speculation, with scientists proposing everything from gamma ray bursts to decaying dark matter. picked by AutumnLotus 11 months ago

Astronomers have found an enormous hole in the Universe, nearly a billion light-years across, empty of both normal matter such as stars, galaxies, and gas, and the mysterious, unseen "dark matter." While earlier studies have shown holes, or voids, in the large-scale structure of the Universe, this new discovery dwarfs them all. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Astronomers can't see black holes. And they definitely can't go out and grab a piece of one to measure its mass.

So how do they weigh them? picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Spitzer Space Telescopes show that the vicinities around the black holes could be backing up with excess matter - the black holes just can’t consume it fast enough to clear the space. When this happens, the matter heats up, and releases a tremendous amount of energy. picked by 2manyusernames 2 years ago

The incredible amount of energy given off across the entire electromagnetic spectrum during a gamma-ray burst is what Jonathan Grindlay of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics calls "the birth pangs of a black hole. This is the scream." picked by AutumnLotus 1 month ago

UK astronomers have developed the most sensitive infrared map of the distant universe ever produced, revealing the origins of the most massive galaxies in the cosmos. Using images obtained with the United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope (UKIRT), astronomers combined data over a period of three years. This produced a map encompassing more than 100,000 galaxies over an area of sky four times the size of... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 6 months ago

The most massive black hole in the universe tips the cosmic scales at 18 billion times more massive than the sun, astronomers suggest today at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Even though researchers suggested black holes up to this mass might exist in quasars, this is the first direct confirmation of such a behemoth. picked by AutumnLotus 9 months ago

Astronomers are using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to dissect one of the largest structures in the Universe as part of a quest to understand the violent lives of galaxies. Hubble is providing indirect evidence of unseen dark matter tugging on galaxies in the crowded, rough-and-tumble environment of a massive supercluster of hundreds of galaxies. picked by AutumnLotus 9 months ago

Astronomers have glimpsed the largest cluster of galaxies ever seen in the distant, early universe. The discovery of this far-off group, estimated to contain as much mass as a thousand large galaxies, offers further proof of the existence of the enigmatic force called dark energy. picked by AutumnLotus 2 months ago

Hundreds of undetected black holes, each with a mass thousands of times greater than the Sun, might be stealthily roving our galaxy, ready to devour anything that crosses their paths. picked by AutumnLotus 9 months ago

This Black Google Portal is easier on your eyes and saves energy. All search results are displayed on google.com with a black background and light text. picked by plimytheelder 2 years ago

Huge filaments of dark matter have been detected in a survey of thousands of distant galaxies. The discovery supports the idea that dark matter drove the formation of galaxies and larger cosmic structures and resolves a discrepancy in previous studies about how much dark matter the universe contains. picked by AutumnLotus 8 months ago

Recently, two groups of astronomers were able to see two classes of unique galaxies from the early universe. One group glimpsed galaxies that looked old even when the universe was young, suggesting they must have been some of the first galaxies to form after the birth of the universe. The other group found galaxies dating from the strongest burst of star formation in the universe. picked by AutumnLotus 6 months ago

Scientists could generate a black hole as often as every second when the world's most powerful particle accelerator comes online in 2007. picked by afeldman 2 years ago