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Black hole blasts out a neon 'treble clef' in space photo

The pink shape is a bizarre source of radio waves spotted deep in the cosmos, according to Space.com; it is not, officially, sheet music.

On air: Dr. Nina Byte and Vera Bullock on BBN Newsroom
Published 10:19 AM ET, Friday, October 16, 2026

Photo: ESO/WFI (Optical); MPIfR/ESO/APEX/A.Weiss et al.… · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

▶ As it aired · U.S.

Watch it as it aired: Dr. Nina Byte and Vera Bullock on this story, from BBN Newsroom at 10:19 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are Space.com's, the jokes are ours.

Photo: ESO/WFI (Optical); MPIfR/ESO/APEX/A.Weiss et al.… · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

Photo: Supermassive black hole — Photo: ESO/WFI (Optical); MPIfR/ESO/APEX/A.Weiss et al.… · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

At a glance

First reported by Space.com: “Supermassive black hole blasts out a neon 'treble clef' | Space photo of the day for Oct. 16, 2026”.
Covered on BBN on Friday, October 16, 2026, at 10:19 AM ET on BBN Newsroom, by Dr. Nina Byte and Vera Bullock.

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

Space.comSupermassive black hole blasts out a neon 'treble clef' | Space photo of the day for Oct. 16, 2026

What BBN said about it

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSo there's a neon pink treble clef floating in space. Who put it there, and do they know it's littering?
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentNobody put it there.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentIt's a source of radio waves from a supermassive black hole deep in the cosmos, and Space.com says the shape just looks like a clef.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorJust looks like. Does this affect me, or my Friday plans?
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentNo. It's a photo of the day, and the data gives no sign of any effect on Earth.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorNot even a little?
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentNot even a little. The radio waves are why it shows up at all, and we can't hear them.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThen what happens next? Does the black hole do a full song?
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentNobody knows yet. So far it's one clef, and one clef is not a song.

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