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At the center of the Abell 1201 cluster resides a huge elliptical galaxy, and at its center sits a supermassive black hole. Previous analysis suggested that the object was big – bigger than most known black holes. The latest one places among the biggest objects in the universe, bigger than certain galaxies. It has an estimated mass of 32 billion (plus or minus two) times that of the Sun.
It is difficult to put that into context. One of the biggest satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, the Small Magellanic Cloud has a mass of 6.5 billion solar masses. That singular black hole is five times as heavy.
“This particular black hole, which is roughly 30 billion times the mass of our Sun, is one of the biggest ever detected and on the upper limit of how large we believe black holes can theoretically become, so it is an extremely exciting discovery,” lead author Dr James Nightingale, Department of Physics, Durham University, said in a statement.
Observing black holes is not easy. It's not a misnomer that they are called "black" – nothing escapes them, not even light, so researchers have to observe what goes on around them. It is possible to see gravitational waves from small ones merging, or radio waves from the closest region around them, as was the case for the one in the Milky Way. They can be spotted if they are actively feeding, as their incredible gravitational pull can heat up material so much it shines in x-rays.
The method used here is different. Researchers were simulating the effect produced by gravitational lenses, how a massive object such as a galaxy or a cluster of galaxies can warp space-time. This warp can magnify background objects and it is very useful for studying things that are very far away, such as the most distant single-star system.
www.iflscience.com
Scientific paper:
academic.oup.com
For context, there are some supermassive black holes found elsewhere, so it's not the biggest we have.
It is difficult to put that into context. One of the biggest satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, the Small Magellanic Cloud has a mass of 6.5 billion solar masses. That singular black hole is five times as heavy.
“This particular black hole, which is roughly 30 billion times the mass of our Sun, is one of the biggest ever detected and on the upper limit of how large we believe black holes can theoretically become, so it is an extremely exciting discovery,” lead author Dr James Nightingale, Department of Physics, Durham University, said in a statement.
Observing black holes is not easy. It's not a misnomer that they are called "black" – nothing escapes them, not even light, so researchers have to observe what goes on around them. It is possible to see gravitational waves from small ones merging, or radio waves from the closest region around them, as was the case for the one in the Milky Way. They can be spotted if they are actively feeding, as their incredible gravitational pull can heat up material so much it shines in x-rays.
The method used here is different. Researchers were simulating the effect produced by gravitational lenses, how a massive object such as a galaxy or a cluster of galaxies can warp space-time. This warp can magnify background objects and it is very useful for studying things that are very far away, such as the most distant single-star system.
New Supermassive Black Hole Weighs 30 Billion Times Our Sun
This is one of the most massive black holes ever discovered.
www.iflscience.com
Scientific paper:
Abell 1201: detection of an ultramassive black hole in a strong gravitational lens
ABSTRACT. Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are a key catalyst of galaxy formation and evolution, leading to an observed correlation between SMBH mass MBH and ho
academic.oup.com
For context, there are some supermassive black holes found elsewhere, so it's not the biggest we have.
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