Twinkle, twinkle, highest redshift star; how we wonder what you are!
What do mythology, Tolkien, and astrophysics have in common?
Gotcha! Finding Isolated Stellar Mass Black Holes
Finding isolated black holes is really tricky, since they are basically invisible. But today’s authors have managed to find one anyways, by using the great multi-tool of gravitational microlensing!
I’m Not Late, You’re Just Early: measuring the Hubble constant using time-delay cosmography
How can we use gravitational lensing to measure the expansion rate of the Universe?
A-void-ing the CMB cold spot
The cold spot is a strange feature in the CMB that has puzzled astronomers for years. Today’s authors use gravitational lensing to find at least a partial cause: A giant supervoid extending 1.8 billion light years!
A Requiem for Dead Galaxies
Traces of magnified dust offer a requiem to early, dead galaxies that ran out of gas
Peering through the lens of the Milky Way Supermassive Black Hole
One of the most important observations by the next generation of giant telescopes will be made by pointing towards the Supermassive Black Hole at the center of our galaxy.