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Birth of a Black Hole

A team of astronomers at The Ohio State University watched a star disappear and possibly become a black hole. Instead of becoming a black hole through the expected process of a supernova, the black hole candidate formed through a “failed supernova.” The team used NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes and the Large Binocular Telescope to observe and monitor the star throughout the past decade. If confirmed, this would be the first time anyone has witnessed the birth of a black hole and the first discovery of a failed supernova.

  • Release Date
    May 25, 2017
  • Science Release
    Collapsing Star Gives Birth to a Black Hole
    Read the release
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, K. Jackson (NASA-GSFC)

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Related Images & Videos

N6946-BH1 Failed Supernova (Artist's Illustration)

N6946-BH1 Failed Supernova (Artist's Illustration)

Massive Star Goes Out With a Whimper Instead of a Bang (Artist's Illustration) This illustration shows the final stages in the life of a supermassive star that fails to explode as a supernova but instead implodes under gravity to form a black hole. From left to right: the...

N6946-BH1

N6946-BH1

Now You See it, Now You Don't: Massive Star Goes Out With a Whimper Instead of a Bang This pair of visible-light and near-infrared Hubble Space Telescope photos shows the giant star N6946-BH1 before and after it vanished out of sight by imploding to form a black hole. The left...

Compass and Scale Image for N6946-BH1

Compass and Scale Image for N6946-BH1

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 12, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

Music Credit

Killer Tracks Production Music, Donn Wilkerson (BMI), Lance Sumner (BMI)

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