COSMOS MAGAZINE
#1: Scientists take even crisper images of black holes
Credit: EHT, D. Pesce, A. Chael.
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration made the highest resolution black hole observations ever from the surface of Earth, capturing M87* and Sagittarius A* at the centres of the Messier 87 and Milky Way galaxies.
Side-by-side simulated images of M87* show the improvement in clarity and resolution from 230 GHz to 345 GHz. These improvements are allowing scientists to measure the size and shape of black holes more precisely. Credit: EHT, D. Pesce, A. Chael.
#2: Black hole “starving” galaxy to death
Pablo’s galaxy. Credit: Francesco D’Eugenio.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) identified a black hole that confirmed the theory that some supermassive black holes can starve their host galaxies of the fuel needed to make new stars.
#3: Black holes are getting caught in “traffic jams”
Artist illustration of thick ring of dust around supermassive black hole. Credit: NASA/SOFIA/Lynette Cook.
A new study reveals the complex dynamics of black holes in the centres of galaxies, how they slow down and interact with each other. This could help explain when and where black hole mergers occur.
#4: Largest stellar black hole in the Milky Way discovered
Image: Artist's impression of BH3 and its companion star. Credit:i ESO/L. Calçada.
The European Space Agency’s Gaia mission found a massive stellar black hole, named Gaia BH3, just 2,000 light years away in the constellation Aquila. It is 33 times the mass of our Sun, more than 50% bigger than the next biggest stellar black hole – Cygnus X-1.
#5: First black hole triple system discovered
An artist’s rendition of the black hole X-ray binary V404 Cygni. Credit: Jorge Lugo.
A black hole was discovered with two orbiting stars for the first time. One star orbits the black hole, V404 Cygni, every 6.5 days. The other orbits at a significantly greater distance and makes the same trip every 70,000 years.