M. Martínez

At the heart of many galaxies lies an invisible beacon — a supermassive black hole. As it devours matter, it blasts a dazzling beam of gamma rays into space. If that beam points towards Earth, astronomers see a blazar — a bright but fickle point.

Seven billion years ago, a black hole at the center of a galaxy unleashed a gamma-ray flare — the most energetic form of light — with staggering power. Its light, after crossing cosmic distances, reached the MAGIC telescopes in December 2017.

The universe hums like an orchestra: its notes are gravitational waves — ripples in spacetime predicted by Albert Einstein. The LIGO observatories, made exquisitely sensitive thanks to Rainer Weiss, strive to catch these whispers.

In the scorching plasma of the solar interior, particles are born that barely interact with matter. One hypothesis suggests these are axion-like particles — light and elusive.