Jun 15 Gravity waves, the sequel. LIGO detects second pair of crashing black holes By Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American The second confirmation of ripples in spacetime is announced by astronomers at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Continue reading
May 26 Supermassive black holes spawn galactic deserts without new stars By Nsikan Akpan Astronomers find a supermassive black hole that stifles star formation by causing galactic warming. Continue reading
May 16 Watch 7:10 Listening in on the ‘Black Hole Blues,’ the soundtrack of the universe By PBS News Hour February saw one of the most important astronomical breakthroughs of the decade, as a team of scientists “heard” gravitational waves -- a key postulate of Einstein’s theory of relativity -- for the first time in human history. Now, astrophysicist Janna… Continue watching
Apr 06 This supernova blast was so close, it littered the ocean floor with radioactive dust By Nsikan Akpan Radioactive stardust confirms the two closest supernovae to ever explode near Earth. The most recent of the pair may have altered human evolution. Continue reading
Jul 02 Watch 8:26 From the big bang to cosmic vibrations, Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart plays the rhythm of the universe By PBS News Hour Mickey Hart, a well-known drummer for the Grateful Dead, has collaborated with astrophysicists on music that reflects the origins of the universe, and with neuroscientists to figure out how music stimulates different parts of damaged brains. Special correspondent Mike Cerre… Continue watching
Mar 17 Scientists find ‘smoking gun’ evidence from the creation of the universe By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy Scientists believe that less than a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang, the universe began to rapidly expand as fast as the speed of light. With a radio telescope at the South Pole, scientists followed gravitational waves which… Continue reading
Feb 06 What Hawking meant when he said ‘there are no black holes’ By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy Last week, Stephen Hawking declared "there are no black holes." What exactly that means has physicists scratching their heads. The problem is 40 years of paradoxes as scientists try to understand how black holes seem to break two rules of… Continue reading
Dec 20 Superheated Jet Dominates Black Hole A University of Maryland astrophysicist makes a discovery that could change the way we understand the behavior of black holes. Continue reading
Jan 31 Watch Astronomers Debate Pluto’s Planetary Status Members of the International Astronomical Union voted in August to reclassify Pluto as a "dwarf planet." Many astronomers, however, are unhappy with the demotion -- they question its scientific validity and the way the decision was made. Continue watching