Why Black Holes Are More Than They Seem

Short Wave

Black holes are notorious for gobbling up, well, everything. They're icons of destruction, ruthless voids, ambivalent abysses from which nothing can return at least, according to pop culture. But black holes have another side: Astrophysicists have seen powerful jets, sometimes millions of light-years long, shooting out of supermassive black holes – including the one at the center of our own galaxy. So today, we're getting to know the other side of black holes, and the powerful role they may play in creating and shaping the cosmos.

Read more about the Blandford-Znajek process.

Got other cosmic curiosities? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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Black holes are notorious for gobbling up, well, everything. They're icons of destruction, ruthless voids, ambivalent abysses from which nothing can return at least, according to pop culture. But black holes have another side: Astrophysicists have seen powerful jets, sometimes millions of light-years long, shooting out of supermassive black holes – including the one at the center of our own galaxy. So today, we're getting to know the other side of black holes, and the powerful role they may play in creating and shaping the cosmos.

Read more about the Blandford-Znajek process.

Got other cosmic curiosities? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
2025-02-04 12 min
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