Black hole specialists gathered in Oxford in March 2026 to explore research directions spanning the entire black hole mass spectrum, according to a report published in Nature Astronomy. The meeting examined how accretion and relativistic jet formation produce qualitative and quantitative similarities across varied black hole masses.
The European Research Council funded the gathering through Synergy Grant 101071643, named Blackholistic. Principal investigators Heino Falcke, Rob Fender, and Sera Markoff directed the underlying grant project. Authors Rob Fender, J. Dai, and E. Kara recorded the meeting proceedings for the journal, declaring no competing financial interests.
Participating researchers represented eight academic and scientific organizations across Europe, Asia, and North America. The contributing institutions include the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Hong Kong. Affiliated centers also include the University of Amsterdam, Radboud University, the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and the Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali in Rome.
Thirteen University of Oxford volunteers assisted with event logistics, including L. O’Donnell, A. Gordon, L. Selmons-Clark, A. Cooper, C. Lilje, E. Elley, F. Cowie, H. Zhang, J. Matthews, K. Savard, S. Prabu, W.-B. Kao, and Z. Zhang. M. Garbaccio Gili provided additional help from Rome, while C. Lilje arranged an alpaca visit for attendees.
Nature Astronomy issued the peer-reviewed record on August 13, 2026, in volume 10, pages 1087–1088. The publisher priced single-article PDF access at $39.95, offering broader access via a $32.99 monthly Nature+ plan or a $119 annual subscription.
