Supermassive black holes seen through dust
Some of the biggest monsters in the cosmos have been hiding, say Japanese and US astronomers who have now spotted several hundred supermassive black holes at the hearts of as many galaxies. (Science News, 02/08/2007)

Oldest black hole ever found
An ongoing survey of the heavens has spotted the most distant, and therefore earliest, giant black hole in the universe. (Science News, 11/06/2007)

Before the Big Bang
An excerpt from a talk given by Roger Penrose on his theory for what existed, or what happened, before the Big Bang. He describes the massive time scales involved as black holes eventually explode. He was speaking at a conference in Sydney. (Science Show 21/07/2007)

Super massive black hole at the centre of our galaxy
How do you prove that something is there when it can't be seen? Although for decades the existence of a super massive black hole at the centre of our galaxy was viewed with scepticism by many astronomers, a team at the University of California, Los Angeles did the maths to prove it and have taken spectacular pictures of the galactic centre. (Science Show 17/06/2006)

Macro quantum mechanics
Dr Allan Ernest is using quantum mechanics to explain dark matter and dark energy, which make up most of the universe - perhaps ten times more than ordinary matter. A chapter on his theory will be included in a book, Progress in Dark Matter Research, to be published in the US later this month. (Science Show 21/05/2005)

Hawking and Black Holes
After almost 30 years of arguing that a black hole destroys everything that falls into it, astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has changed his mind. He presented his latest finding at the 17th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation in Dublin. Fellow astrophysicist Paul Davies comments on Hawking's reversal. (Science Show 24/07/2004)

Profile of John Wheeler
Physicist Paul Davies presents a profile of the great American theoretical physicist John Wheeler whose work gave us much of our knowledge about black holes, and indeed gave them their name. John Wheeler talks about his early fascination with the universe, his collaboration with Niels Bohr and his conversations with Albert Einstein. (Science Show 13/09/2003)

What's at the Centre of our Galaxy ?
Astrophysicist Fulvio Melia believes that by the end of this decade we will have proof that at the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way, there is what he describes as 'a brooding behemoth', a supermassive black hole. (Science Show 23/08/2003)

Gamma-ray Bursts & Black Holes
For decades astronomers have been trying to solve the puzzle of gamma-ray bursts: where do they come from and what causes them. Jonathan Nally gives us the lowdown on the latest findings and Paul Davies offers his opinion on last week's report about a new Big Bang/expansion of the universe theory. (Science Show 18/05/2002)

A Younger Universe
A scientist now believes that the universe is of a younger age than was previously thought, at between 11.8 and 15 billion years old.

This figure is the result of combining three different measuring techniques, 1/ the Hubble constant which tells us how fast the universe is expanding, 2/ the mass density of the universe, 3/ and the cosmological constant.

CH Lineweaver, explains his theory and says the universe is going to expand forever. (Science Show 29/05/1999)

Pink Black Holes
One of the stars of National Science Week was a young astronomer who won an award for his appearance at Fresh Science in Melbourne. Paul Francis, from Mt Stromlo Observatory in Canberra, has discovered that most black holes appear to be pink. (Science Show 22/05/1999)

Black Holes
Jonathan Nally brings us the latest on black holes. (Science Show 24/04/1999)

Birth of a Black Hole
Australian astronomers may be witnessing what has never been seen before - a black hole being born as the core of a supermassive star collapses in on itself.
This may be the key to explaining 'gamma-ray bursters' - the most powerful explosions in the Universe since the original Big Bang.
Telescopes of Mt Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories, the Anglo-Australian Observatory and CSIRO's Australia Telescope are trained on a spectacular fireball in the nearby galaxy ESO 184-82. The fireball looks like a supernova - the gigantic explosion that ends the lives of stars many times bigger than our Sun. (Science Show 16/05/1998)

More Big Questions
The great battle between fact and faith is under contention as Phillip Adams continues his conversations with Paul Davies Full Story | Published 11/07/2002

Taking the Cosmic Shortcut
Elizabeth Warnes takes us time travelling through the elusive wormhole. Full Story | Published 21/02/2002

The Big Questions
Paul Davies and Phillip Adams examine the whys and wherefores of the cosmos. Full Story | Published 17/01/2002

40 Years of the Dish
Australia's famous 'Dish' - the Parkes radio telescope - has turned 40. Peter Robertson reports. Full Story | Published 01/11/2001

The One-Square-Kilometre Telescope
Helen Sim talks about the past conquests, present experiments and the exciting future of Radio astronomy. Full Story | Published 12/02/1998

Black Holes
Everything you've ever wanted to know about Black Holes but were too terrified to ask. Full Story | Published 04/09/1997

Big Bang - the story
What do we imagine the Big Bang to have been like? How can we envisage this most significant event in the Universe's history. Full Story | Published 07/08/1997