Exploring Black Holes with Reinhard Genzel at the CoG Colloquium

The audience at Nobel Laureate Reinhard Genzel's colloquium. The lecture was part of the Center of Gravity Colloquia at the Niels Bohr Institute. — Members of the audience during Prof. Reinhard Genzel's colloquium at the Center of Gravity. Photo by Esben Zøllner Olesen.

The Center of Gravity Colloquia series at the Niels Bohr Institute continued last Tuesday with a talk by Nobel Laureate Reinhard Genzel on “Experimental Evidence for the Existence of Black Holes and their Cosmic Evolution.”

The historic Auditorium A was filled to capacity, despite unforeseen circumstances that meant Prof. Genzel had to join remotely. In his lecture, Prof. Genzel took the audience on a journey through the ever-growing evidence for the existence of these still enigmatic objects, with a focus on the observational evidence for a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. He then turned to the cosmic evolution of black holes, discussing how they grow, interact with their environments, and co-evolve with their host galaxies across cosmic time, as well as the many open questions that remain. He ended on a satirical note with a short film on creative uses of black holes. The talk was followed by lively discussions, which continued during the reception in the CoG lounge.

Nobel Laureate Reinhard Genzel's colloquium at the Center of Gravity Colloquia (Niels Bohr Institute). — Left: Jann Zosso making the opening remarks during Prof. Reinhard Genzel's colloquium. Right: A view of the packed Auditorium A during the colloquium. Photos by Esben Zøllner Olesen.

The Center of Gravity Colloquia is organized by Jann Zosso, Vitor Cardoso and Fanny Töpper.

April 22, 2026, 3:44 p.m.