Astronomers are watching two unusual black holes, each presenting phenomena that challenge current understanding of these cosmic giants. One, a “serial killer” black hole, is about to devour its second star within five years, while the other, part of the newly discovered triple system V404 Cygni, has disrupted long-held theories of black hole formation.

The Black Hole “Serial Killer” Reaches for Another Star

Located 215 million light-years from Earth, this supermassive black hole first caught scientists’ attention five years ago with a bright flare. The flare came from a star that had drifted too close to it, sparking what astronomers call a tidal disruption event, or AT1910qix. Gravitational forces stretched and tore apart the star, leaving part of its remains around the black hole and launching the rest into space.

Led by Dr Matt Nicholl of Queen’s University Belfast, a team of astronomers has tracked this remnant disc over several years using high-powered telescopes such as the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope. Recently, another star has started passing through this disc every 48 hours, creating bright X-ray bursts with each collision. Dr Nicholl describes it as similar to a diver creating splashes in a pool each time they hit the water, with the star as the diver and the disc as the pool.

“What’s uncertain is what will ultimately happen to this star,” Dr Nicholl said. “It could be pulled into the black hole, or it may eventually disintegrate from these repeated impacts.”

A Rare Triple Black Hole System in Cygnus

Meanwhile, in the constellation Cygnus, a rare triple system is raising questions about black hole origins. Known as V404 Cygni, this system includes a nine-solar-mass black hole and two orbiting stars, one much farther away than astronomers had thought possible. Kevin Burdge, an MIT research fellow, notes that a supernova typically pushes any distant companions too far to remain gravitationally bound. But in this system, a distant star orbits at a staggering 300 billion miles.

In their Nature paper, Dr Burdge and his team proposed that this black hole may have formed without a supernova explosion, possibly “quietly” collapsing without ejecting its nearby companions. This hypothesis has sparked interest among scientists, as it hints at new black hole formation processes yet to be fully understood.

Daniel Holz, an astrophysicist at the University of Chicago, noted that while unlikely, nature often defies assumptions. This discovery could open a new chapter in black hole research.

 

Astronomers have uncovered something surprising while looking 13 billion years into the past using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). They’ve spotted supermassive black hole-powered quasars that appear to be hanging out in isolation. This is odd because, according to current theories, black holes need to be surrounded by a lot of material to grow quickly. But these quasars seem to be in areas with little to no fuel to support such growth, leaving scientists scratching their heads.

Unusual Quasar Fields

A team led by Anna-Christina Eilers, an assistant professor of physics at MIT, studied five of the earliest known quasars. While some were in environments packed with matter, others were almost empty, which was unexpected. Typically, quasars need dense surroundings to grow their black holes, but these particular ones seem to be growing without the usual supply of gas and dust. As Eilers put it, “It’s difficult to explain how these quasars grew so massive if there’s nothing nearby to feed them.”
Challenges to Black Hole Growth Theories

In the present universe, supermassive black holes sit at the center of galaxies and feed on surrounding matter, creating the bright phenomenon we know as quasars. The newly discovered quasars, however, appear to lack the necessary resources. This raises a big question: how did these black holes grow so fast in such a short time? Right now, the existing theories about black hole formation don’t seem to explain what the JWST is showing.

The Next Steps

This discovery raises more questions than it answers. The team thinks it’s possible that some of these seemingly “empty” quasar fields might actually be hiding material behind cosmic dust. They’re now planning to tweak their observations to see if they can find what’s been missed. What’s clear is that we’re still far from understanding how these supermassive black holes came to be so early in the universe’s history.

 

The vastness of space, often portrayed as a seemingly endless starry expanse, is both awe-inspiring and mysterious. One question that often comes to mind when observing the night sky is: Why is space dark? With countless stars scattered across the universe, each emitting light, it seems intuitive to think that space should be brightly lit rather than dark. However, the answer to this apparent contradiction lies in the fundamental nature of space and light.

To understand why space is dark, we need to grasp the concept of distance in space. Stars emit light in all directions, and while there are an immense number of them, the vast distances between these stars and our vantage point on Earth result in their light becoming diluted. To picture this, imagine standing in a vast, open field at night with a single candle burning far away in the distance. While the candle is indeed emitting light, the enormous space between you and the candle makes its glow barely perceptible. In the same way, the light from distant stars spreads out across the universe, and by the time it reaches us, it is so faint that it contributes little to illuminating space.

One crucial factor that helps explain the darkness of space is the inverse square law of light. This law states that the intensity of light decreases proportionally to the square of the distance from the light source. In simpler terms, the farther you are from a light source, the dimmer it appears. For example, if you move twice as far away from a light, its brightness will be reduced to a quarter of its original intensity. Now, apply this principle to the vast universe, where stars are often located billions of light-years away. Even the brightest stars in the cosmos appear as faint pinpricks of light from Earth because their luminosity diminishes exponentially over such vast distances. As a result, despite the countless stars in the universe, their light is so spread out that space appears predominantly dark.

Paradoxically, the very reason space is dark is a testament to its immense size. If the universe were smaller or more compact, the light from the stars would not have to travel such vast distances to reach us, and we would experience a brighter sky. In a smaller universe, the light would be more concentrated, and the sky might even appear glowing, filled with star after star. But in our reality, the unimaginable distances between celestial objects are what make space appear so empty and dark.

Although space is dark overall, it is not completely devoid of light. On a clear night, we can observe stars because their light is still concentrated enough to be detected by our eyes or with the help of telescopes. The light from stars that are relatively closer to us is bright enough to pierce the darkness, offering points of illumination in the vast emptiness. Additionally, when we look up at the night sky, we can often see the Milky Way galaxy, our home galaxy, appearing as a faint, glowing band. This is because the stars within the Milky Way are clustered more densely along the plane of the galaxy, creating a visible concentration of light in the night sky.

In conclusion, the darkness of space is a direct result of the vast distances between stars and the behavior of light as it travels over such great expanses. The inverse square law ensures that as light moves farther from its source, it becomes weaker and less noticeable. Despite the numerous stars that fill the universe, the sheer enormity of space causes it to appear dark. This darkness is not a sign of emptiness but rather a natural consequence of the universe’s immense scale. It reminds us of the incredible vastness of the cosmos and the limits of human perception when faced with such profound distances.