By combining forefront X-ray observations with state-of-the-art supercomputer simulations of the buildup of galaxies over cosmic history, researchers have provided the best modeling to date of the growth of the supermassive black holes found in the centers of galaxies. Using this hybrid approach, a research team led by Penn State astronomers has derived a complete picture of black-hole growth over 12 billion years, from the universe s infancy at around 1.8 billion years old to now at 13.8 billion years old.
2 JANUARY 2021
You know how stars do. They re out there, doing their thing, fusing a whole bunch of hydrogen into helium, shining up the joint.
But some stars are just a little bit different from the norm. Not content with simply lighting up the night sky like a giant disco, they zoom, shimmer, dim and even hang around seeming to be older than the actual Universe. These are our galaxy s oddballs, and we love each and every one.
Need for speed: PSR J0002+6216
(J. English/University of Manitoba/NRAO/F. Schinzel et al./DRAO/Canadian Galactic Plane Survey/NASA/IRAS)
We re not sure where the star named PSR J0002+6216 is headed, but we know it s heading there fast. It s travelling at the absolutely breakneck speed of 1,130 kilometres per second (700 miles per second). That could take it from Earth to the Moon in six minutes.