Ultra-luminous black hole may unveil the true nature of the universe as pixelated

Artist’s depiction of a galaxy with a shining quasar at its center

NASA, ESA, J. Olmstead (STScI)

The fabric of space and time, or so-called physical reality, may be made up of small, discrete parts strung together. Preliminary analysis of the way matter orbits quasars suggests that evidence of this cosmic quilt can be found in the universe’s most extreme neighborhoods.

Much of the understanding we gain about the composition of the universe comes from examining matter at increasingly smaller scales. Let’s think about liquids, he says. Jonathan Gorard…