LIGO confirmed Stephen Hawking's theorem about black hole surface areas

When they merge, black holes release multiple solar masses of energy

The energy emanates outward in the form of gravitational waves, which can be detected at observatories like LIGO. After merging, it is impossible to determine the characteristics of the two black holes that merged to create it.

Hawking radiation shows black holes slowly evaporate through quantum effects.

Hawking radiation is Stephen Hawking's theoretical prediction that black holes emit radiation and eventually evaporate. Applied to known black holes, their radiation is so weak that it would take vastly longer than the current age of the universe for them to disappear.

Stephen Hawking's biggest discovery—Hawking radiation—came from a major mistake

Hawking radiation may not have been discovered without Jacob Bekenstein first convincing Stephen Hawking that black holes follow the laws of thermodynamics. The graduate student showed that black holes could shrink, setting the stage for Hawking’s most significant contribution.

Despite his disability, Stephen Hawking reshaped our understanding of black holes

His theoretical work—especially on black holes emitting radiation, now known as Hawking radiation—challenged long-held ideas. He also brought complex physics to the public through bestselling books like "A Brief History of Time."

Cygnus X-1 helped scientists confirm black holes are real and measurable phenomena

The 1964 discovery of Cygnus X-1 provided the first strong candidate, but it took decades—and a famous bet between Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne—before scientists were certain it was a black hole. Hawking's thumbprinted concession was delivered after breaking into Thorne's office.

Explaining 'impossible' black holes

When stars collapse, the black holes they form can have the mass of either 50 suns or over 120—but current models claim strongly that no black hole should have a mass that falls in between that range. But in 2019, gravitational wave observatories detected two within it: one at 66 solar masses, the other at 85. The discovery disrupted established science and left researchers questioning the Standard Model of physics.

LIGO made the first detection of gravitational waves

On February 11, 2016, scientists at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory announced the confirmed detection of ripples in spacetime, which were produced from the collision of two black holes 36 and 29 times the mass of the sun. The detection confirmed that gravitational waves travel at the speed of light, as predicted by Albert Einstein in 1915.

Black holes are formed from massive stars collapsing under their own gravity

This creates a region where spacetime curves infinitely, known as a singularity. Black holes' intense mass and energy allow them to trap light, distort time and space, and present challenges with reconciling Einstein's theory with quantum mechanics.

The Big Bang became physically plausible thanks to Stephen Hawking’s thesis

Stephen Hawking's PhD thesis mathematically showed that singularities—points of no volume and infinite density—are an expected feature of nature. It laid the theoretical groundwork for a model of the universe where everything originates from a single point.

Hawking suggested studying black holes could reveal truths about the universe's start

After predicting black holes could evaporate and before undergoing a tracheotomy, Stephen Hawking conducted interviews in his voice, explaining phenomena like black holes and the Big Bang. In this clip, he explains how curiosity drives humans to become “masters of the universe.”

The black hole information paradox comes to an end

Quanta Magazine provides a deep dive into black holes and the black hole information paradox. For a very long time it was believed nothing could escape a black hole. Therein lies the paradox. Per quantum mechanics, whatever falls into a black hole should not necessarily be lost forever, and may eventually return. In a landmark series of calculations, physicists have proved that black holes can shed information.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

Stephen Hawking's condition explained

Diagnosed with ALS at 21 and told he had two years to live, Stephen Hawking went on to change our understanding of black holes and the universe, living 55 more years and defying every expectation.

Neutron star collisions may be the universe's gold factories

In his last broadcast interview, Stephen Hawking comments on detecting gravitational waves from the collision of neutron stars. The event may serve as a new means of measuring cosmological distances and help identify revisions to general relativity.

There are likely millions of small black holes lurking undetected near us in space

Because black holes are so hard to spot directly, astronomers rely on models of galaxy and star evolution to estimate their population. A recent study used simulations and galactic data to show that about 1% of all matter in the universe is locked inside black holes.

Try to catch the 'sound' of black holes in gravitational wave detector data

In "Black Hole Hunter," users try to listen for gravitational wave signals from black holes in four sample data files that include substantial background noise. With each level, learn more about black holes while being faced with ever-quieter signals.

Nothing can enter white holes—the opposites of black holes

Although a mathematical possibility according to general relativity, there is no observational evidence for these objects, which would endlessly eject material into the universe via anti-gravity. It is also unclear how they would form or avoid collapsing due to the gravity of the ejected material.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

Sagittarius A* is a massive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy

For years, it was known as a strong source of radio signals, but there wasn't enough data to adequately describe or identify it. Orbital movements of nearby stars would indicate it had 4.6 million times the sun's mass, proving it was a black hole.

Creating 'Interstellar's' black hole blended visual effects with real physics models

Theoretical cosmologist Kip Thorne was consulted and collaborated with the film's visual effects team to develop new rendering software, integrate general relativity, and generate ultra-high-resolution visuals. The results were so accurate, they were published in scientific journals.

Collisions between cosmic rays and atmospheric particles dwarf particle accelerators

According to Einstein's model of gravity, confining immense energy into a sufficiently small region would warp space-time enough to create a black hole. If accelerators actually did create black holes, then trillions more would be produced daily in the atmosphere, where collisions are millions of times more energetic.

Mars' orbit may provide evidence that dark matter is made of primordial black holes

Physicists at MIT have found that, statistically, one such microscopic black hole should pass through the solar system every decade, which they predict would introduce a detectable wobble in Mars' orbit. Such black holes would have formed in the early universe from collapsing gas clouds and scattered as the universe expanded.

How a solar eclipse proved Einstein's theory of gravity

For hundreds of years, Isaac Newton's laws of gravity and motion accurately predicted every observation and measurement involving orbits. With the advance of technology, more precise measurements revealed anomalies, including the orbit of Mercury, which Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity could explain. This article details the two frameworks and how they went head-to-head during an eclipse for gravitational supremacy.

The construction of LIGO needed to compensate for Earth's curvature

Across the 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) arms, the height of Earth's surface falls by almost a meter, preventing the lasers traveling within the arms from meeting the mirror at the end of each. Concrete slabs built beneath the arms help keep them level and provide structural support against seismic vibrations.

No one showed up to the party for time travelers organized by Stephen Hawking

In 2009, Hawking hosted a reception but only sent out invitations afterward, hoping that time travelers from the future would attend and prove time travel possible. He later joked it was "experimental evidence" that time travel doesn’t exist.

The Milky Way only has a 50-50 chance of merging with the Andromeda galaxy

Previously considered a near certainty, research data from Hubble and GAIA have reduced the likelihood of a collision and merger between the two galaxies. Instead, the data suggests the Milky Way will absorb the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy, in the next two billion years.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

Waves off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, can reach over 100 feet and are caused by the area's deep underwater canyon geography

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.