Supermassive black holes devour gas just like their petite counterparts
Regardless of size, all black holes experience similar accretion cycles, a new study finds.
Fast-spinning black holes narrow the search for dark matter particles
Certain ultralight bosons would be expected to put the brakes on black holes, but new results show no such slowdown.
MIT astronomers discover new galaxy clusters hiding in plain sight
Lesson learned from the CHiPS survey must inform future cluster searches, researchers say.
Astronomers image magnetic fields at the edge of M87’s black hole
New image of M87 reveals how it looks in polarized light.
Found in space: Complex carbon-based molecules
Discovery may offer clues to carbon’s role in planet and star formation.
Pondering the unknowable
Alan Lightman’s new book explores the riddles of origins, infinities, and other bafflements brought to us by modern science.
Research updates from TESS: Hunting for worlds beyond our solar system
MIT scientists present exoplanet data at the 237th American Astronomical Society meeting.
Astronomers detect extended dark matter halo around ancient dwarf galaxy
Findings suggest the first galaxies in the universe were more massive than previously thought.
TESS discovers four exoplanets orbiting a nearby sun-like star
MIT-led NASA mission finds a multi-planetary system that could be an “ideal laboratory” to study planetary formation and evolution.
Search for axions from nearby star Betelgeuse comes up empty
Results significantly narrow the range of possible places to find the hypothetical dark matter particles.
Mark Vogelsberger wins 2020 Buchalter Cosmology Prize for simulating a “fuzzy” universe
Associate professor of physics shares the honor with colleague Phillip Mocz for their novel dark matter research.
Storm in a cosmic teacup: A new paradigm for understanding plasma turbulence
PhD candidate Lucio Milanese uncovers new fundamental mechanism in turbulence.
3 Questions: Rona Oran and Benjamin Weiss on the ancient moon’s missing magnetism
Simulations rule out plasmas caused by meteoroid impacts as the source of lunar magnetism, supporting the proposal that the ancient moon generated a core dynamo.
Q&A: Holly Jackson on building a cosmic family tree
Undergraduate in electrical engineering and computer science contributes to startling new astronomy research.
A technique to sift out the universe’s first gravitational waves
Identifying primordial ripples would be key to understanding the conditions of the early universe.