We care about your data, and we'd like to use cookies to give you a smooth browsing experience. Please agree and read more about our privacy policy.
  • Physics

  • Mathematics

  • Biology

  • Computer Science

  • Topics

  • Archive

What's up in

galaxies

A grid of 66 galaxies.
astrophysics

Tiny Galaxies Reveal Secrets of Supermassive Black Holes

By Charlie Wood
March 14, 2022
Read Later

Dwarf galaxies weren’t supposed to have big black holes. Their surprise discovery has revealed clues about how the universe’s biggest black holes could have formed.

2021 in Review

The Year in Physics

By Michael Moyer
December 22, 2021
Read Later

Puzzling particles, quirky (and controversial) quantum computers, and one of the most ambitious science experiments in history marked the year’s milestones.

Collage illustration of the JWST
astrophysics

The Webb Space Telescope Will Rewrite Cosmic History. If It Works.

By Natalie Wolchover
December 3, 2021
Read Later

The James Webb Space Telescope has the potential to rewrite the history of the cosmos and reshape humanity’s position within it. But first, a lot of things have to work just right.

An animation of a glowing conical beam
astrophysics

Physicists Identify the Engine Powering Black Hole Energy Beams

By Natalie Wolchover
May 20, 2021
Read Later

Supermassive black holes emit jets of white-hot plasma that stretch thousands of light-years across the cosmos. For the first time, researchers have identified what’s creating these jets.

The Milky Way galaxy shown in X-rays.
Abstractions blog

Galaxy-Size Bubbles Discovered Towering Over the Milky Way

By Charlie Wood
January 6, 2021
Read Later

For decades, astronomers debated whether a particular smudge was close-by and small, or distant and huge. A new X-ray map supports the massive option.

A computer simulation of two galaxies colliding.
astrophysics

The New History of the Milky Way

By Charlie Wood
December 15, 2020
Read Later

Over the past two years, astronomers have rewritten the story of our galaxy.

Photo of a sign reading “To Telescope” near Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
Quantized Columns

Social Distancing From the Stars

By Emily Levesque
August 11, 2020
Read Later

Professional astronomers may not point their telescopes by hand anymore, but COVID-19 has still closed observatories and impeded research.

Video of hot gas falling into a supermassive black hole.
Abstractions blog

Why Are Black Holes So Bright?

By Liz Kruesi
April 22, 2020
Read Later

And why is the black hole at the center of our own galaxy so dim?

Video simulation of gas around a black hole.
astrophysics

Astronomers Find Black Holes Stirring Up the Biggest Galaxies

By Charlie Wood
December 12, 2019
Read Later

After a space telescope disintegrated, astrophysicists had little hope of understanding how supermassive black holes agitate giant galaxies. Then they invented a hack.


Previous
  • 1
  • 2
Next

Follow Quanta

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

Instagram

RSS

Newsletter

Past Month

Most Read Articles

This Data is Current Loading...

This Data is Current Loading...

This Data is Current Loading...

The Quanta Newsletter

Get highlights of the most important news delivered to your email inbox

Recent newsletters


  • About Quanta
  • Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Simons Foundation
All Rights Reserved © 2022