Black holes to dark matter – an evolving universe

The EAGLE Project/The Virgo Consortium for Cosmological Simulations - From supermassive black holes to the hunt for dark matter, Durham's scientists are at the forefront of investigations into the evolution of the universe. Our astronomers and cosmologists are world-leaders working with fellow researchers across the planet to further our understanding of the cosmos and our place in it. This research will form the basis of the latest in an international webinar series promoting the partnership work of the University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Black hole heartbeat The webinar will describe recent research into the on-going heartbeat of a supermassive black hole located 600 million light years from Earth. The repeated beat from this cosmic giant - created as the black hole feeds on its surroundings - was seen again in 2018 more than ten years after first being observed. It's the most long-lived heartbeat ever seen in a black hole and tells us more about the size and structure close to its event horizon - the surrounding space from which nothing, including light, can escape. Our research analyses this intriguing signal, and compares it with the behaviour of stellar-mass black holes found in our own galaxy, The Milky Way.