active galaxies
Dust Ruins Another Way of Measuring Distance in the Universe
Astronomers are always searching for new ways to measure distance in the Universe, especially at the greatest distances where less…
Strong Evidence that Supermassive Black Holes Affect Their Host Galaxy’s Chemistry
Supermassive Black Holes (SMBHs) are impossible to ignore. They can be billions of times more massive than the Sun, and…
Webb Sees Organic Molecules in the Hearts of Galaxies, Surprisingly Close to Active Supermassive Black Holes
When the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) launched, one of its jobs was studying galactic formation and evolution. When we…
Astronomers see a Rare “Double Quasar” in a Pair of Merging Galaxies
What's better than a quasar? That's right, two quasars. Astronomers have spotted for the first time two rare double-quasars, and…
An Active Galaxy That Erupts Predictably Every 114 Days Or So
Computers are known for their ability to spot patterns. It’s what they are good at, and over the last 50+…
New Research Reveals How Galaxies Stay Hot and Bothered
It's relatively easy for galaxies to make stars. Start out with a bunch of random blobs of gas and dust.…
Astronomers Count all the Photons in the Universe. Spoiler Alert: 4,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Photons
Imagine yourself in a boat on a great ocean, the water stretching to the distant horizon, with the faintest hints…
Winds of Supermassive Black Holes Can Shape Galaxy-Wide Star Formation
The combined observations from two generations of X-Ray space telescopes have now revealed a more complete picture of the nature of…
Three Supermassive Black Holes Tango in a Distant Galaxy, Marking a Huge Discovery
In a galaxy four billion light-years away, three supermassive black holes are locked in a whirling embrace. It’s the tightest…
Galactic Mergers Fail to Feed Black Holes
[/caption] The large black holes that reside at the center of galaxies can be hungry beasts. As dust and gas…