Black Hole

A black hole in the Cygnus X-1 binary system is so massive that it challenges current stellar evolution models. An artist’s impression of the Cygnus X-1 binary system. Image credit: International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research. Discovered in 1964, Cygnus X-1 is an X-ray binary system located in the constellation…

An illustration of how astronomers observed the Cygnus X-1 system from different angles, using the EarthÕs orbit around the sun to measure the perceived movement of the system against the background stars. (International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research via The New York Times) NEW YORK: One of the biggest and…

Einstein first predicted the existence of black holes when he published his theory of general relativity in 1916, describing how gravity shapes the fabric of spacetime. But astronomers didn’t spot one until 1964, some 6,070 light-years away in the Cygnus constellation. Geiger counters launched into space detected cosmic x-rays coming…

New observations of the first black hole ever detected have led astronomers to question what they know about the Universe's most mysterious objects. Published today in the journal Science, the research shows the system known as Cygnus X-1 contains the most massive stellar-mass black hole ever detected without the use…

New observations of the first black hole ever detected have led astronomers to question what they know about the Universe’s most mysterious objects. Published today (February 18, 2021) in the journal Science, the research shows the system known as Cygnus X-1 contains the most massive stellar-mass black hole ever detected…

The dozens of black hole collisions observed by the LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave detectors are changing our view of the universe. Sakkmesterke/Science Source When the first black hole collision was detected in 2015, it was a watershed moment in the history of astronomy. With gravitational waves, astronomers were observing…

Identical twins have nothing on black holes. Twins may grow from the same genetic blueprints, but they can differ in a thousand ways—from temperament to hairstyle. Black holes, according to Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity, can have just three characteristics—mass, spin and charge. If those values are the same for…

Larger black holes may be the usual attention-getters, but the smaller ones may be at least as important. A team using the Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a concentration of small black holes in the NGC 6397 globular star cluster (pictured above) 7,800 light-years away — the first to have…

Home News Science & Astronomy The globular cluster NGC 6397, as imaged by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, T. Brown, S. Casertano, and J. Anderson (STScI)) A tight knot of stars nearly as old as the universe hides a dark secret at its core. The globular cluster…

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