Black holes
Latest about Black Holes
![An artist's illustration of two black holes merging.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PzTnxiJLxCaBbQPLmtzevN-320-80.jpg)
Astronomers discover the 1st-ever merging galaxy cores at cosmic dawn
By Ben Turner published
Two superluminous quasars, or active black holes at the centers of large galaxies, were found just 900 million years after the Big Bang — the earliest detection of a pair of merging quasars ever seen.
![NASA simulation shows the glow from two supermassive black holes as they spiral toward each other ahead of a collision](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Fdx92acc3iPCB3Skjp9DiM-320-80.jpg)
Black hole 'morsels' could finally prove Stephen Hawking's famous theory right
By Robert Lea published
Stephen Hawking suggested nothing lasts forever, including black holes. Scientists may have a way to prove it at last.
![A black hole is so compact that nothing can escape its gravitational pull, not even light.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mqVtu5vszMqBHwRw7SqWaG-320-80.jpg)
Scientists may have finally solved the problem of the universe’s 'missing' black holes
By Ben Turner published
Primordial black holes are one of the strongest candidates for the universe's missing dark matter. But a new theory suggests that not enough of the miniature black holes formed for this to be the case.
![An artist’s impression of the binary system VFTS 243](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mMPXfyJEoX29hnJqgc6wG5-320-80.jpg)
'Vanishing' stars may be turning into black holes without going supernova, new study hints
By Keith Cooper published
Stars that vanish from the sky may be collapsing directly into black holes without going supernova first, a new study of a bizarre binary star system suggests.
![Artist illustration of a black hole.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RC96KMpHfLGf85yWR8eAhm-320-80.jpg)
NASA spots 16 'Death Star' black holes blasting powerful beams at multiple targets
By Robert Lea published
Researchers using NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope have found that a group of "Death Star black holes are swiveling around and pointing at new targets, like the fictional space station in Star Wars."
![An artist's rendering of a black hole](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zL8ZMUtKatFQ4E48yoYLCF-320-80.jpg)
Black hole spin speed revealed in new study of churning space-time
By Robert Lea published
Scientists have calculated the speed of a spinning supermassive black hole by studying the 'spaghettified' remains of a star it destroyed.
![a black hole in the middle of a swirling orange cloud](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9RkMvNh3LMcyRxs6JKd7am-320-80.jpg)
Scientists discover bizarre region around black holes that proves Einstein right yet again
By Ben Turner published
Einstein's general theory of relativity predicted that so-called 'plunging regions' around black holes would accelerate matter into them at the speed of light. Now, X-ray observations of a remote black hole have proved him right.
![This image shows the environment of the galaxy system ZS7 as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope. A zoomed-in look at the merging black hole system is inset in yellow.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KNxPxS2uMzFULUTYUZPL4J-320-80.jpg)
James Webb telescope spots 2 monster black holes merging at the dawn of time, challenging our understanding of the universe
By Brandon Specktor published
New observations with the James Webb Space Telescope reveal the most distant pair of merging black holes ever spotted. The discovery further challenges leading theories of cosmology.
![A James Webb Telescope image shows the J0148 quasar circled in red. Two insets show, on top, the central black hole, and on bottom, the stellar emission from the host galaxy.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3KjAEanAPK3f2BSzQ3f5u4-320-80.jpg)
James Webb telescope measures the starlight around the universe's biggest, oldest black holes for 1st time ever
By Ivan Paul published
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have separated the light of a quasar from the light of its surrounding stars, offering unprecedented insight into how the universe's oldest black holes grew.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.