Some of 2025’s scientific discoveries broke records

Notable findings include longest lightning, biggest black hole collision and more

An illustration of a red and yellow disk resembling a mushroom cloud in space, with a dark hole at its center

The James Webb Space Telescope spied the earliest confirmed black hole (central sphere in this illustration). It’s probably surrounded by dense gas, which might alter the light emitted by material feeding the growing celestial body.

Erik Zumalt/University of Texas at Austin

Some of 2025’s scientific discoveries pushed the limits.