Study of celestial objects, space, and the physical universe.
When massive stars die, they can collapse into incredibly dense objects—black holes or neutron stars. Black holes have such strong gravity that not even light can escape! Neutron stars are so dense that a teaspoon of their material would weigh as much as a mountain.
Black holes can pull in nearby gas, dust, and even stars. As material falls in, it heats up and emits X-rays that astronomers can detect. Neutron stars, especially spinning ones called pulsars, send out beams of radio waves like cosmic lighthouses.
Studying these objects helps scientists test the limits of physics and understand gravity, matter, and energy in extreme conditions.
The first image of a black hole was captured in 2019 by the Event Horizon Telescope.
Pulsars help astronomers study the fabric of space and time.
Black holes and neutron stars are the remains of massive stars and are among the most mysterious objects in the universe.