Just 3.5 million years ago, after the dinosaurs had already become extinct and ancient human ancestors began to walk the Earth, the center of the Milky Way galaxy lit up as an epic beam of energy burst forth, creating a flare that expanded to more than 200,000 light years away from the supermassive black hole that created it.
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An international team of astronomers wielding the observational power of three massive telescopes have discovered a 13 billion-year-old galaxy cluster, the oldest grouping of star systems observed to date in the cosmos, according to a study released Thursday.
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Astronomers have discovered 39 massive and ancient galaxies that defy current models of the known universe and contain clues about the interactions of black holes with dark matter, a study published Wednesday revealed.
Read moreA supermassive star thousands of times larger than the sun may have been what caused Milky Way stars in globular clusters to have such unique chemistry, new research shows.
Read moreA new study supports the prevailing theory of where some of the universe’s most mysterious inhabitants – black holes – reside.
Read moreThis image, captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows two galaxies becoming one. The twisted cosmic knot seen here is NGC 2623, located about 250 million light-years away in the constellation of Cancer.
Read moreNew research has uncovered active supermassive black holes in six out of seven “jellyfish” galaxies reviewed, a surprising trend the reveals a previously unknown mechanism by which these cosmic enigmas are fed.
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The Hubble Telescope captured this image of galaxy NGC 4656, also known as “The Hockey Stick Galaxy.” Located in the constellation Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs), the galaxy is shaped like an elongated warped stick stretching through space before curling at one end to give it its common name.
Read moreWe may soon know what a black hole looks like, if radio-telescope observations taking place around the world this week see what astronomers hope they will.
Read moreCosmic events in which stars are ripped apart by supermassive black holes occur 100 times more frequently than previously thought, British astronomers say.
Read moreA 3-dimensional map constructed using advanced telescopes may offer the first proof that the Milky Way Galaxy is being pushed as much as it’s being pulled.
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