Scientists think they have found an explanation for what scientists thought was a “runaway” black hole speeding through the universe. Last month, scientists reported that they had seen what appeared to be an object unlike anything seen before. What originally appeared to be scratches on Hubble images was actually a black hole that had been thrown out from its home galaxy and was now speeding through the cosmos, scientists said. Astronomers had come to that conclusion after spotting a long trail of stars, formed 8 billion years ago. It was a stretched out, narrow shape, roughly the same size as our own Milky Way. Last month’s study suggested that those stars were the wake left behind from that runaway black hole. As the black hole travelled through a gas cloud, it left behind the right conditions to start forming stars, that study suggested. It was shock and a breakthrough for a number of reasons: it was unprecedented, and required a number of different conditions for it to be true. That led astronomers both to celebrate and question the theory, and in the time since other researchers have been working on their own ideas. Now scientists at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) have suggested their own, more ordinary explanation of the unusual, long star structure. They suggest that it is in fact just a flat or thin galaxy – one without a bulge that makes it wider – that is being seen from its side. “The motions, the size, and the quantity of stars fits what has been seen in galaxies within the local universe,” said Jorge Sanchez Almeida, an IAC researcher who is the first author of the article, in a statement. “It’s a relief to have found the solution to this mystery, the new proposed scenario is much simpler. In one sense it is also a pity, because the existence of fleeing black holes is expected, and this could have been the first one to be observed.” The team compared the mystery structure with another, much better known galaxy, named IC5249. That is near to us, has a similar mass of stars, and doesn’t have a galaxy either. They found that it was surprisingly similar. The stars were moving in similar ways to those found in closer, comparative galaxies, researchers said. That led scientists working on the new paper to suggest that it is a relatively normal and expected galaxy, rather than an out-of-control black hole. But they hope that further observations will shed further light on what exactly it is doing – and could still allow the galaxy to prove of interest to astronomers. “We also looked at the relation between the mass of the assumed galaxy and its maximum velocity of rotation, and discovered that indeed it is a galaxy which behaves like a galaxy,” said Ignacio Trujillo, an IAC researcher who worked on the study. “It is an interesting object, because it is quite a large galaxy at a very large distance from Earth, where the majority of the galaxies are smaller.” The proposal is reported in a paper, ‘Supermassive black hole wake or bulgeless edge-on galaxy?’, published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. Read More Aliens may intercept human communication ‘within next 100 years’, study says Powerful auroras likely this week due to rare ‘backward’ sunspot Meteorite crashes through roof of New Jersey home Aliens may intercept human communication ‘within next 100 years’, study says Powerful auroras likely this week due to rare ‘backward’ sunspot Meteorite crashes through roof of New Jersey home

Representative Henry Cuellar, a veteran Texas Democrat, was the victim of a carjacking in Washington on Monday night,

Colombia wins its first match of the Women’s World Cup 2-0 over South Korea Tuesday without head coach Nelson Abadía on the touchline

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell appeared to briefly freeze up and was unable to answer a question from a reporter at an event in Kentucky on Wednesday

Ryan Mason insists the Tottenham job remains an attractive proposition despite another protracted search for the head coach role. Spurs saw another contender to permanently replace Antonio Conte exit the running this week after Feyenoord boss Arne Slot committed his long-term future to the Eredivisie club before he signed a new deal on Friday. Tottenham held an interest in Slot but no direct discussions with the 44-year-old took place, the PA news agency understands. Other managers linked with the vacancy, such as Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso and Burnley boss Vincent Kompany, have also pledged their immediate futures to their current clubs, but acting head coach Mason is under no illusions the top job at Spurs remains desirable. Asked if the Tottenham job was still an attractive proposition, Mason replied: “Absolutely, yes. “It is Tottenham Hotspur, it is a big club. Not just for managers or coaches, but for staff members, for players. “Anyone here should feel the privilege and honour to represent the badge. If they don’t, then they shouldn’t be here. It is as simple as that.” When Conte left his position on March 26, Tottenham were firmly in the race for Champions League qualification but they travel to relegation-threatened Leeds on Sunday with only a faint chance of securing a place in the Europa Conference League. It is Tottenham Hotspur, it is a big club. Not just for managers or coaches, but for staff members, for players Ryan Mason Mason insisted that, while European football for next season is crucial, the most important task for the club is to put a plan in place. “Obviously it has its implications and it’s not where the football club wants to be. We definitely want to be competing in Europe,” Spurs’ acting head coach stated. “Any European competition is important for a club this size but at the same time the most important thing, regardless of whether we’re in or out of Europe, is that there is a plan and there is commitment from everyone to that going forward.” During the last few weeks, Mason has repeatedly referenced the need for commitment at the club without going into specifics. Even before Conte departed two months ago, the future of the Italian was uncertain with his deal set to expire this summer anyway. Mason again refused to be drawn on whether any coaches, players or staff had lacked commitment this season, but admitted the squad had been affected by the turmoil off the pitch. He added: “The results before he (Conte) left weren’t amazing. I don’t think results have dipped a huge amount. “Obviously we were in a different position but I think you could feel it, you could feel it the weeks leading up to it there was uncertainty and it’s never great to have that uncertainty. “We’ve probably been in that situation for the last eight weeks where there’s been a lot of uncertainty. “That is why one of my main things when me and my team of people came in, I wanted to create a togetherness and make us feel part of something towards the end of the season.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Rankings don’t lie – Dan Evans believes British tennis has soul-searching to do Cameron Norrie sees Lyon title defence ended by Francisco Cerundolo Mikel Arteta braced for even harder Premier League challenge next season

Cheyenne Knight and Elizabeth Szokol held off Matilda Castren and Kelly Tan by a stroke Saturday to win the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, the LPGA Tour’s lone team event

Matt Rife, who is best known for his self-produced comedy specials OnlyFans, quipped, 'Sorry if you need surgery to look like that'

Fifa have claimed a significant victory in their attempt to regulate the world’s top football agents, as the European Commission has backed the governing body’s move to bring in strict new rules including a cap on fees. Although it will be a hearing at the European Court of Justice that ultimately settles the issue, the Commission’s written submission to judges carry significant weight. It is seen by sources involved as a “huge development” and being hailed as a win for Fifa in what had been developing into a highly fractious conflict. Agents argue that the global body is attempting to unfairly affect their earning potential through a labour negotiation issue that actually has nothing to do with football, and goes against European Union antitrust laws. One strident position has been that setting a price cap would essentially represent a price-fixing cartel by the clubs, which top agents had been putting a lot of focus on. The European Commission have instead argued that a cap is entirely justified in order to protect players and contractual stability, as well as limiting conflicts of interest while protecting players who lack experience or information about the transfer system. An additional note was that agents’ fees are actually excessive and out of kilter with any normal fees for a service. The Commission’s observations also pointed to the “degree of discretion” which EU law generally affords sporting associations in order to fairly govern. Of the cap, it was stated “the defendant has plausibly pointed out that very high agency commissions, which are completely decoupled from the cost of the consideration, create a strong incentive to exert massive influence on players in particular in order to force an early transfer.” A further issue the new rules are set to tackle is on representing various parties on the same deal. The Commission has also backed restriction of this, arguing it “appears suitable” to mitigate against potential conflict of interest. A date for the hearing at the court in Luxembourg has not yet been set. Read More Fifa must secure Saudi promise over World Cup human rights, Amnesty warns Saudi Arabian World Cup in 2034 sparks ‘significant concern’ from major leagues Saudi Arabia set to host World Cup 2034 as Australia opts against bid

The US is on track for an Oct. 1 government shutdown despite incremental progress late Tuesday in the

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman is the first person to get an Indonesian golden visa as Southeast

TOKYO Nintendo said on Wednesday it will develop a live-action film of long running franchise "The Legend of

The world’s leading fossil fuel financier has come up with a new way to assess how well it’s