City University of New York

If you happen to have an uncharged black hole handy, you may be able to power your house with it. Just set it spinning. But since most of us won't, it’s a little hard to test. That is, until these researchers found a way to do it in the lab.

Astronomers have observed a bright flash of light from space, which appears to have come from a collision between two black holes. And that’s surprising, considering that black holes are famously dark objects.