Scientists are investigating an unusually wobbly black hole

A few weeks after NASA released the first-ever image of a black hole, astronomers have announced another black hole first.
This black hole, named V404 Cygni after the Cygnus constellation where it appears, might literally be "warping space" around it, Space reports. We've never seen anything like it — instead of sucking all matter into itself, like black holes tend to do, V404 Cygni has been observed spewing particles out of its gravitational pull.
Scientists have observed black holes ejecting particles before, in streams called "relativistic jets." What truly sets this black hole apart is that it's doing so at speeds we never thought possible — so fast that when astronomers initially tried to get a picture of the process, all that came back was a blur. They had to change the exposure time of their pictures from four hours to just 70 seconds in order to see what was going on.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The new find, published on Monday in Nature, was "completely unexpected," said Greg Sivakoff, one of the study's co-authors. V404 Cygni has "deepened our understanding" of how black holes work.
Currently, scientists think that the fast-paced wobbling of this black hole has something to do with Einstein's theory of general relativity, Space explained. According to that theory, when an object as big as a black hole spins, it pulls the fabric of space and time with it.
Learn more about how this unusual discovery could inform our theories about the universe at Space.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?
In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Sudoku medium: August 23, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Sudoku hard: August 23, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Rabbits with 'horns' sighted across Colorado
speed read These creatures are infected with the 'mostly harmless' Shope papilloma virus
-
Why does the US want to put nuclear reactors on the moon?
Today's Big Question The plans come as NASA is facing significant budget cuts
-
Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's study
Speed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
-
Scientists discover cause of massive sea star die-off
Speed Read A bacteria related to cholera has been found responsible for the deaths of more than 5 billion sea stars
-
'Thriving' ecosystem found 30,000 feet undersea
Speed Read Researchers discovered communities of creatures living in frigid, pitch-black waters under high pressure
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 years
Speed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
-
Possible dwarf planet found at edge of solar system
Under the radar The celestial body has an unusual orbit
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study finds
Speed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses