It's Black Hole Friday! This computer simulation shows a... gas cloud encountering two supermassive black holes. As gravitational and frictional forces meet, the cloud condenses and heats. Each time the black holes orbit, some of the gas is ejected. Learn how scientists use data like this to improve their observations and understanding of cosmic systems:show more

🚨 SCIENTISTS MAY HAVE FINALLY SOLVED ONE OF THE... BIGGEST UNSOLVED PROBLEMS IN BLACK HOLE PHYSICS. For years, astrophysicists have struggled with the “final parsec problem”: even after two supermassive black holes get relatively close, they struggle to shed enough angular momentum to merge within the age of the universe. New 3D simulations reveal that magnetic fields in the gas disk surrounding a binary system can solve this. The fields trigger powerful outflows and jets that efficiently carry away angular momentum, allowing the two objects to spiral much closer together. The same mechanism also explains how some binary stars end up in extremely tight orbits. In the simulations, binaries without magnetic fields actually moved farther apart. With magnetic fields present, they rapidly lost angular momentum and migrated inward. Why this matters: • It provides a physically motivated solution to one of the biggest open problems in black hole astrophysics • Magnetic fields appear to be far more effective at removing angular momentum than previously modeled effects • The mechanism works for both star formation and black hole mergers • It shows that the environment around binaries (not just the objects themselves) plays a decisive role in their evolution The deeper implication: We often think of black holes and stars as isolated objects governed purely by gravity. But these simulations show that the magnetic fields threading the gas around them can fundamentally change their fate. By removing angular momentum through jets and outflows, magnetic fields act like a cosmic brake, allowing binaries to reach the tight configurations we observe. This doesn’t just help explain star formation it may finally tell us how the universe’s most massive black holes manage to merge and create the gravitational wave signals we’re now detecting. Sometimes the key to cosmic mergers isn’t gravity alone. It’s magnetism. How important do you think magnetic fields are in shaping the final stages of black hole mergers and binary star evolution? Follow for more frontier astrophysics and the hidden forces that govern the universe.show more

At the heart of our Milky Way lies Sagittarius... A*, the supermassive black hole with a mass of about 4.3 million suns. Recent observations from the Event Horizon Telescope have revealed something remarkable: the magnetic fields surrounding it are not the turbulent, disordered chaos scientists once expected, but instead form a strong, coherent spiral structure.These organized, twisted magnetic fields thread through the swirling hot plasma near the event horizon, acting like invisible guides that regulate how matter flows inward. They help control the acceleration and heating of gas, determine the intensity of emitted radiation, and stabilize the chaotic environment just outside the point of no return.This discovery, achieved by imaging polarized light from the accretion disk, shows striking similarities to the magnetic geometry seen around the much larger black hole in M87—despite vast differences in size and activity level. It suggests that powerful, ordered magnetic fields are a universal feature of supermassive black holes, playing a central role in how they feed, influence their surroundings, and potentially launch jets.The findings deepen our understanding of extreme plasma physics under intense gravity, test general relativity in its strongest regime, and highlight the profound interplay between magnetic forces and spacetime itself. Even in our relatively quiet galactic center, these fields reveal a hidden capacity for dynamic, powerful behavior—reminding us that black holes are not just gravitational sinks, but complex engines shaped by electromagnetism on cosmic scales.Future observations promise even sharper views and time-lapse sequences, offering deeper insights into the fundamental processes driving the hearts of galaxies.show more

A visualization of two black holes emitting gravitational waves

This supermassive black hole holds a mass of nearly... 66 billion Suns, making it the largest confirmed black hole ever discovered. Its event horizon is so vast that our entire solar system would disappear inside it, and time near its edge would slow almost to a stop. Located billions of light-years away, TON 618 shows us how powerful and mysterious the universe truly is.show more

This supermassive black hole holds a mass of nearly... 66 billion Suns, making it the largest confirmed black hole ever discovered. Its event horizon is so vast that our entire solar system would disappear inside it, and time near its edge would slow almost to a stop. Located billions of light-years away, TON 618 shows us how powerful and mysterious the universe truly is.show more

Cat (or elephant?) is out of the bag. Welcome... to the Black and Orange, FNC Cloud 🧡show more

1. stable orbits around black holes are very possible... and common, and lots of other things that don’t quite match up with black hole physics, but given the devil is involved i accept it 2. “geostationary orbit” is a term that only applies to a very specific orbit around Earthshow more

This animation shows the binary black hole system of... OJ 287. Every 12 years, the smaller black hole punches through the accretion disk of the larger black hole and results in a flash of light that is over a trillion times brighter than the sun. By KFRMANshow more

What if the inside of black holes are a... roiling sea of space and time stretching and compressing in multiple directions?show more

The problem with Big Tech is that it can... "cloud" your judgement… New Black Friday drop: The Cloud bath bomb.show more

The Ghost of Cassiopeia: a cosmic phantom in the... glow of a volatile star 👻 Located 550 light-years from Earth, the IC 63 nebula is a ghostly cloud of dust and gas. It is gradually being eroded by the intense radiation from a nearby, unpredictable star: Gamma Cassiopeiae. Autumn and winter are the best times to observe this remarkable object from the Northern Hemisphere. 🔭show more

What are black holes? How do we find and... study them? NASA scientists have answers to these questions (and more!) in our new video series! Check out a clip, and dive deeper into black holes with “Astro-Investigates” on YouTube: #BlackHoleWeekshow more

Internet Computer Plans Free Cloud Engine Rollout Internet Computer... (DFINITY Foundation) founder Dominic Williams (dom | icp) says a growing number of enterprises are waiting for ICP cloud engines. The project plans to distribute free two week promo codes this summer to let users create and run cloud engines on Internet Computer nodes. Williams said the initiative could strengthen demand for $ICP and accelerate onchain AI adoption.show more

Kenny Payne 5 games into year 1: “There’s not... no black cloud. You determine the black cloud.” Kenny Payne as his tenure limps to a finish: “What I inherited was broken” cc: State of Louisvilleshow more

When a star collapses, it starts spinning extremely fast.... And because black holes form out of dying stars, all black holes we know should be spinning too. This makes them even more screwed up in reality than in theory, where black holes are usually referred to as non-spinning.show more

One of the most accurate computer simulations of a... black holeshow more

San Diego resident shows how much it cost to... fill up at the gas station closest to him The price of gas is $6.79 at this station and he shows the cost of a tank of gas California is back to Biden gas prices due to Gavin Newsom’s new fuel requirements forcing refineries to close Believe it or not there are actually gas stations even more expensive than this, and if you search for the cheaper stations they are still over $5.40 per gallon… insanelyshow more

The first gravitational waves ever directly observed were produced... by two colliding black holes. In a fraction of a second, the merger unleashed 3.6×10⁴⁹ watts of power, exceeding the combined luminosity of every star in the observable universe.show more