Category Astronomy/Space

Dark matter, not a black hole, could power Milky Way’s heart

'Dark matter, not a black hole, could power Milky Way's heart'
Artistic representation of the Milky Way, where the innermost stars move at near relativistic speeds (defined as velocities that constitute a significant fraction of the speed of light, typically considered to be 10% or more) around a dense core of dark matter, with no black hole at the centre. At greater distances, the halo part of the same invisible dark matter distribution continues to shape the motions of stars in the outskirts of our galaxy, tracing the characteristic rotation curve. Credit: Valentina Crespi et al. License type Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

Our Milky Way galaxy may not have a supermassive black hole at its center but rather an enormous clump of mysterious dark matter exerting the same gravitational influence, astronomers say...

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Scientists just mapped the hidden structure holding the universe together

The Universe’s Hidden Structure Revealed
This map shows the Dark Matter distribution in the COSMOS field observed by the Hubble Space Telescope (left) and by the James Webb Space Telescope (right). Dark Matter distribution in the COSMOS field. The overlaid contours mark regions of equal dark-matter density, highlighting where this invisible matter – shown here in a blue color ­– is most strongly concentrated. Credit: Dr. Gavin Leroy/Professor Richard Massey/COSMOS-Webb collaboration

Scientists have produced the most detailed map ever created of dark matter that runs throughout the Universe, revealing how it has influenced the formation of stars, galaxies, and planets.

The research, which includes astronomers from Durham University in the UK, provides new insight into how this unseen substance helped draw ordinary matt...

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Supermassive black holes sit in ‘eye of their own storms,’ studies find

Illustration of gigantic black hole surrounded by a disc of gas and a jet of particles coming from both ends.
An artist’s rendition of the immediate vicinity around the supermassive black hole known as M87*. However, the roiling, superhot gases around these black holes extend much further than seen in this visualization. Two new studies give us new insight into the regions around these black holes and how they influence their surrounding galaxies.Illustration by S. Dagnello (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

Gigantic black holes lurk at the center of virtually every galaxy, including ours, but we’ve lacked a precise picture of what impact they have on their surroundings...

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New 3D map of the sun’s magnetic interior could improve predictions of disruptive solar flares

New 3D map of the sun's magnetic interior could improve predictions of disruptive solar flares
Panels (a), (b), and (c) show the 3D evolution of the toroidal field during Cycle 23 at three different times. (d) Time–latitude plot of the azimuthally averaged toroidal field that shows the equatorward migration. (e) Here, we show the contribution of the nonaxisymmetric toroidal field at different depths of the convection zone. Credit: The Astrophysical Journal Letters (2026). DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ae3138

For the first time, scientists have used satellite data to create a 3D map of the sun’s interior magnetic field, the fundamental driver of solar activity. The research, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, should enable more accurate predictions of solar cycles and space weather that affects satellites and power grids.

Magnetic star
The sun is more than just a fier...

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