String Theory Might Merge With the Other Theory of Everything

In the last few decades, researchers have pursued the problem in two separate programs—string theory and loop quantum gravity—that are widely considered incompatible by their practitioners. But now some scientists argue that joining forces is the way forward.

Stephen Hawking reckons he's cracked the black hole paradox

Last August, Stephen Hawking tantalised the world by saying he'd worked out a solution to the “black hole paradox”. He's now dropped the first detailed discussion of his hypothesis for the world to pore over, here at ArXiv in a paper entitled Soft hair on black holes.

REVEALED: Inside the heart of a galaxy-guzzling supermassive black hole

NASA has obtained its best ever images of a supermassive black hole and the mysterious ring that feeds the galactic gobbler.

Black holes have a size limit of 50 billion suns

Physicists have firmed up a theoretical limit on the mass of a black hole by figuring out when it will disrupt the disc that feeds it.

Doomed quasar is heading for a powerful explosion

PKS 1302-102 is one of the few known quasars with a pair of black holes within its accretion disc. It is also a curious case for astronomers as it will produce a powerful explosion when these two black holes merge. The scientists trying to determine the scale of this merger estimate that it could result in an enormous release of energy.

Black hole caught SHREDDING a star 'just' 290 million light years away

Astronomers at the University of Maryland, observed the event, which is the closest tidal disruption discovered in about a decade.

New theory on size of black holes: gas-guzzling black holes eat two courses at a time

Astronomers have put forward a new theory about why black holes become so hugely massive -- claiming some of them have no

Scientists gear up to take a picture of a black hole

On Wednesday, Jan. 18, astronomers, physicists and scientists from related fields will convene in Tucson, Ariz. from across the world to discuss an endeavor that only a few years ago would have been regarded as nothing less than outrageous. The conference is organized by Dimitrios Psaltis, an associate professor of astrophysics at the University of Arizona

A black hole's dinner is fast approaching

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have discovered a gas cloud with several times the mass of the Earth accelerating fast towards the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. This is the first time ever that the approach of such a doomed cloud to a supermassive black hole has been observed. The results will be published in the 5 January 2012 issue of the journal Nature.

Two record-breaking black hole behemoths spotted

Two gargantuan black holes -- weighing in at nearly 10 billion times the mass of our sun -- have been discovered, possibly revealing a "missing link" in the galactic evolution puzzle.

Birth of famous black hole: longstanding mysteries about object called Cygnus X-1 unraveled

A precise distance measurement by the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) allowed astronomers to accurately calculate the mass and spin of a famous black hole, thus providing a complete description of the object.

Planets could orbit singularities inside black holes

Certain black holes can have a complex internal structure that could allow photons, particles, and perhaps even planets to orbit the central singularity

Monster black hole eats worlds

A new study claims a supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy is ripping apart entire worlds on a daily basis.

Could primordial black holes be dark matter?

(PhysOrg.com) -- “We know that about 25% of the matter in the universe is dark matter, but we don’t know what it is,” Michael Kesden tells PhysOrg.com. “There are a number of different theories about what dark matter could be, but we think one alternative might be very small primordial black holes.”