Black holes
Black holes are regions of space where the gravitational pull is so strong that nothing — not even light — can escape. Rather than empty space, black holes are chock full of matter that gets squeezed into a teensy space.
Latest about Black Holes
There were more black holes in the early universe than we thought, Hubble research reveals
By Matthew J. Hayes published
New research can help us understand how supermassive black holes formed — and why many of them appear to be more massive than expected.
Black hole 'blowtorch' is causing nearby stars to explode, Hubble telescope reveals
By Ben Turner published
Star explosions called novas are happening twice as often near a gargantuan black hole jet as they are in the rest of the galaxy, and astronomers aren't sure why.
A 'primordial' black hole may zoom through our solar system every decade
By Charles Q. Choi published
"If there are lots of black holes out there, some of them must surely pass through our backyard every now and then."
Biggest black hole jets ever seen are as long as 140 Milky Ways
By Ben Turner published
The largest-ever black hole jets ever seen hint that these cosmic monsters may play an even more significant role in shaping galaxies than previously thought.
Monster black hole is starving its host galaxy to death, James Webb telescope reveals
By Ben Turner published
New observations with JWST have confirmed that supermassive black holes have the power to quench star formation across their surrounding galaxies.
The Milky Way's supermassive black hole is spinning incredibly fast and at the wrong angle. Scientists may finally know why.
By Ben Turner published
Observations from the Event Horizon Telescope may reveal a secret merger in our supermassive black hole's past, potentially explaining the cosmic monster's unusual spin.
Scientists make lab-grown black hole jets
By Keith Cooper published
By using protons to probe how a magnetic field responds to an expanding plasma, experimenters have replicated the particle jets spewed out by active black holes.
Some black holes have a 'heartbeat' — and astronomers may finally know why
By Paul Sutter published
A tiny fraction of known black holes emit X-ray signals that resemble a human "heartbeat." Now, new research may finally explain the strange phenomenon.
Watch a star get destroyed by a supermassive black hole in the 1st simulation of its kind
By Daniel Price published
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.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.