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Black Hole

A graphic shows a dark but diffuse purple ring that is centered in the image. The dark purple fades into a bright purple, then a light blue that fades lighter towards the center where there is a bold, black circle.
Credit: NASA
Published: November 30, 2022

An illustration showing a face-on view of a black hole. The colors depicted in this illustration are for artistic purposes only.

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An illustration of the COSI spacecraft.
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COSI is illustrated in light and dark blues. The spacecraft has a hexagonal body topped with a box with various attachments. One solar panel extends to the left side of the satellite’s body.
COSI (Compton Spectrometer and Imager)
An illustration showing an irregular galaxy.
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An amorphous, diffuse purple blob that's darker around the rim with a light, whitish center. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Irregular Galaxy (Version One)
An illustration of NASA’s BurstCube spacecraft.
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A graphic of BurstCube is shown in light and dark shades of blue. The satellite’s body is rectangular, with the long side facing the viewer. Solar panels are attached to the short, left-hand side.
BurstCube
An illustration of ESA's LISA Pathfinder spacecraft.
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This illustration shows ESA's LISA Pathfinder spacecraft in shades of blue. The craft has an octagonal shape with a relatively flat "face" with smaller components found around the sides of the spacecraft.
LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) Pathfinder
An illustration of a planetary nebula.
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In the background is a hazy blue circle, with dark, transparent blue around the edge and lighter/brighter blues leading inward. In front of the blue circle is a blueish-gray object, shaped like a minimal, twisty lemon. Inside of this shape is a central, light yellow, cloudy circle with a bright white spot in the middle. All within the lemon-shaped object, the white spot is surrounded by an oblong oval shape which is overlapped by two large circular shapes and two small circular shapes. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Planetary Nebula (Version One, Blue)
An illustration of a purple spiral galaxy.
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A hazy range of purples makes up the base of this swirling spiral of light blue lines twirling inward toward a yellow cloud with a white spot in the center. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Spiral Galaxy (Purple)
An illustration of the ASCA spacecraft, developed by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Japan.
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A graphic of ASCA is shown in light and dark shades of blue. The body of the spacecraft is bottle shaped, and an array of solar panels crosses on top of the widest part.
ASCA (Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics)
An illustration of NASA's ASTHROS spacecraft.
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A graphic of ASTHROS is shown in light and dark shades of blue and has a main cage-like body with large, rectangular panels stemming from its sides, small square panels on its lower half, and a thin structure protruding from the top. (This structure will attach to a large balloon). A telescope protrudes from the back of the structure.
ASTHROS (Astrophysics Stratospheric Telescope for High Spectral Resolution)
An illustration showing a blue, side view of a barred spiral galaxy.
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An illustration has an elongated oval in light blue stretching across the center, outlined in a darker blue. Behind the strip is a diffuse, very light blue cloud that fades into a light blue and then a darker blue. All over the image are white speckles, representing stars.
Barred Spiral Galaxy (Side View, Blue)
An illustration of the EXCLAIM instrument.
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An illustration in multiple shades of blue depicting EXCLAIM. The instrument is made up of a hollow cylindrical object next to a rectangular object. The whole instrument sits within a framework that extends upwards to a point, where it will attach to a balloon.
EXCLAIM (Experiment for Cryogenic Large-Aperture Intensity Mapping)
An illustration of a purple elliptical galaxy.
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A diffuse oval is outlined by dark purple but is primarily a medium, bright purple except for the center, a bright white spot surrounded by a small ring of white haze. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Elliptical Galaxy (Purple)
An illustration of a purple star-forming nebula.
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A large, amorphous blob in a circular shape has layers of transparent, hazy color overlapping. The different layers start with a slight blue and dark purple around the outer rim and move inward to brighter purples. While white dots representing stars speckle the whole image, in the upper left part of this shape is a bright white circular cloud with more pronounced and larger stars grouped together.
Star-forming Nebula (Version Two, Purple)
An illustration of NASA's PIPER instrument.
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This illustration shows NASA's PIPER instrument in shades of blue. Piper has a cage-like structure with a large cylinder inside of it and smaller boxes attached around it. Long thin support pieces extend from the body upward, which will attach the payload to a large balloon.
PIPER (Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer)
A horizontal oval illustration of a supernova.
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A large horizontal oval shape with stripes of lighter and darker green moves inward to a lighter green oval with waved edges. In the center is a dark green oval that appears like a starburst because of the waved outlines that lay on top. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Supernova (Light Green)
An illustration of a planetary nebula.
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A subtly transparent, colorful hourglass shape has a central point that is a white circle surrounded by bright, white haze. Extending outward from the center in opposite directions are plums of color that form the hourglass shape. The central part of each plume starts as an icy, light blue and fades upward into a purple color and outward into red. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Planetary Nebula (Version Two, Purple)
A textbook illustration of a pulsar.
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This object resembles a tilted open clamshell with a pearl in the center. The two halves of the shape have curved stripes that start as a bold, dark blue on the outside and move inward towards the center, getting brighter and lighter. In the center is a bright white circle with transparent yellow beams emerging from its sides.
Pulsar (Version One)
An illustration showing the side of an irregular galaxy.
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A very long, diffuse, vaguely oval-shaped blob has a hazy dark purple color around its edge and it gets progressively lighter moving inward toward a cloudy white center. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Irregular Galaxy (Side View)
An illustration of NASA's TESS spacecraft.
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This illustration of NASA's TESS shows the spacecraft in shades of blue. The multi-sided, cylindrical shaped main body of the satellite has two solar array "wings," each extending out from the sides of the satellite which is attached to an open, cone shaped bottom piece. Nestled inside the cone are four squares which show the relative positions of TESS’s cameras.
TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)
An illustration of NASA's Chandra spacecraft.
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A graphic of Chandra is shown in light and dark blue with a long, cylindrical main body. At the front of this cylinder is a darker circle. Jutting off of the front of the main body are two "wings" of solar arrays.
Chandra X-ray Observatory
An illustration of ESA's XMM Newton observatory.
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This illustration shows ESA's XMM-Newton observatory in shades of blue. Overall, the craft is dragonfly-shaped with a long, cylindrical body and an open "head" from which two solar array "wings" extend.
XMM Newton (X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission Newton)
An illustration showing a purple, side view of a barred spiral galaxy.
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An illustration has an elongated oval in light purple stretching across the center, outlined in light blue. Behind the strip is a diffuse, yellowish cloud of color that fades into a medium, bright purple. All over the image are white speckles, representing stars.
Barred Spiral Galaxy (Side View, Purple)
An illustration showing the side of a blue spiral galaxy.
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A horizontal oval is outlined by diffused, dark blue surrounding a brighter blue which fades to be lighter and brighter as it moves inward. The center of the shape is a hazy white circle. Cutting across the center of the image is a flattened disc outlined in dark blue with a light blue center. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Spiral Galaxy (Side View, Blue)
An illustration of a planetary nebula.An illustration of a planetary nebula. The colors depicted in this illustration are for artistic purposes only.
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A transparent, colorful hourglass shape has a central point that is a white circle surrounded by bright, light haze. Extending out from the center in opposite directions are plumes of color that form the hourglass shape. Each starts as blue near the central circle, then fades into a purplish pink color. The outline of the hourglass shape is wavy and white dots representing stars speckle the image.
Planetary Nebula (Version Two, Pink)
An illustration of an orange and yellow elliptical galaxy.
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A diffuse oval is outlined by a light orange-ish yellow but gets progressively lighter in rings towards the center, a bright white spot surrounded by a small ring of white haze. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Elliptical Galaxy (Orange/Yellow)
An illustration of ESA’s INTEGRAL spacecraft.
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This INTEGRAL illustration shows the space telescope in shades of blue. The main body of the spacecraft is made of an octagonal base. A long rectangle extends from the base above a cylinder. Solar panels extend from either side of the base.
INTEGRAL (International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory)

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Black Holes News

This image features a galaxy called 3C 297 that is lonelier than expected after it likely pulled in and absorbed its former companion galaxies.
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Chandra Helps Astronomers Discover a Surprisingly Lonely Galaxy
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Astronomers Dig Out Buried Black Holes with NASA's Chandra
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NASA Missions Probe Game-Changing Cosmic Explosion
NASA Missions Probe Game-Changing Cosmic Explosion
A new sonification turns X-ray “light echoes” from a black hole called V404 Cygni into sound.
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'Listen' to the Light Echoes From a Black Hole
'Listen' to the Light Echoes From a Black Hole
NASA's IXPE found that the flow of matter toward the black hole’s disk is more edge on than previously thought.
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NASA's IXPE Reveals Shape, Orientation of Hot Matter Around Black Hole
NASA's IXPE Reveals Shape, Orientation of Hot Matter Around Black Hole
NASA’s newest X-ray eyes are open and ready for discovery.
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NASA's New IXPE Mission Begins Science Operations
NASA's New IXPE Mission Begins Science Operations
NASA’s IXPE mission launched Thursday, December 9, 2021, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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NASA Launches New Mission to Explore Universe's Most Dramatic Objects
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NASA’s Roman will use its microlensing survey to provide the best opportunity yet to definitively detect solitary small black holes.
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How NASA's Roman Telescope Will Uncover Lonesome Black Holes
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Black holes are some of the most bizarre and fascinating objects in the cosmos – but they're invisible!
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Black Holes: Seeing the Invisible!
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For the first time, scientists mapped out the invisible magnetic fields pulsing through Centaurus A using infrared light.
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Galactic Merger Warps Magnetic Fields
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An international team of astronomers discovered a cosmic equivalent to Yellow Stone's Old Faithful geyser.
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NASA Missions Help Investigate an ‘Old Faithful' Active Galaxy
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Explore the bonds between some of the universe’s notable couples
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Cosmic Couples and Devastating Breakups
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After more than 16 years studying the universe in infrared light, NASA's Spitzer mission has come to an end.
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NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope Ends Mission of Astronomical Discovery
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For the first time, NASA’s TESS watched a black hole tear apart a star.
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NASA's TESS Mission Spots Its 1st Star-shredding Black Hole
NASA's TESS Mission Spots Its 1st Star-shredding Black Hole
NuSTAR’s observations of an ultraluminous X-ray source offer possible explanations for these mysterious objects.
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NASA Satellite Spots a Mystery That's Gone in a Flash
NASA Satellite Spots a Mystery That's Gone in a Flash
Since its launch, NASA’s Spitzer has lifted the veil on the wonders of the cosmos using infrared light.
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Sixteen Images for Spitzer's Sweet 16
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By combining NASA Chandra data with the EHT image, scientists can learn more about the giant black hole M87* and its behavior.
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Chandra Captures X-rays in Coordination with Event Horizon Telescope
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Scientists charted the environment surrounding a stellar-mass black hole using NASA’s NICER.
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NASA's NICER Mission Maps ‘Light Echoes' of New Black Hole
NASA's NICER Mission Maps ‘Light Echoes' of New Black Hole
Did you know our Milky Way galaxy is blowing bubbles? Two of them, each 25,000 light-years tall!
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Blowing Bubbles in the Gamma-ray Sky
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For the first time, scientists using NASA’s Fermi found the source of a high-energy neutrino from outside our galaxy.
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NASA's Fermi Traces Source of Cosmic Neutrino to Monster Black Hole
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NASA’s Chandra data were critical in determining if a neutron star merger created a heavier neutron star or black hole.
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Gravitational Wave Event Likely Signaled Creation of a Black Hole
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NuSTAR identified two gas-enshrouded supermassive black holes at the centers of nearby galaxies.
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Black Holes Hide in Our Cosmic Backyard
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These data from NASA’s Chandra gave astronomers a look at the growth of black holes over billions of years.
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Chandra Deep Field South: Deepest X-ray Image Ever Reveals Black Hole Treasure Trove
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