Biggest black hole in the cosmos discovered
The most massive known black hole in the universe has been discovered, weighing in with the mass of 18 billion Suns. Observing the orbit of a smaller black hole around this monster has allowed astronomers to test Einstein’s theory of general relativity with stronger gravitational fields than ever before.
The black hole is about six times as massive as the previous record holder and in fact weighs as much as a small galaxy. It lurks 3.5 billion light years away, and forms the heart of a quasar called OJ287.
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The smaller black hole, which weighs about 100 million Suns, orbits the larger one on an oval-shaped path every 12 years. It comes close enough to punch through the disc of matter surrounding the larger black hole twice each orbit, causing a pair of outbursts that make OJ287 suddenly brighten.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
That is so cool! It’s hard to imagine ANYTHING that big, much less a black hole. Very cool. The mass of a small galaxy? Wow!!
January 11th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
That is fascinating! It is also hard for me to get my mind around it!
The hardest thing to understand is that a black hole has ‘weight’.
Thanks for sharing.
January 13th, 2008 at 6:38 am
Amazing… There is no god.