Largest black hole ever discovered

As reported in a meeting of the American Astronomical Society, scientists discovered the largest recorded black hole to date. It has the mass of 18 billion Suns. The size is unbelievably massive, the picture really helps to put it all in to perspective.

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. A quasar is an extremely bright object in which matter spiralling into a giant black hole emits copious amounts of radiation.

Here's a link to the full article.

Thu, Jan 10, 2008  Permanent link