The giant black hole studied, known as 'J2157', was discovered by the same research team in 2018. New research led by the Australian National University (ANU) has allowed us to know how massive it really is.
The study Has been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
J2157
The team, which includes researchers from the University of Arizona, used the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of ESO in Chile to precisely measure the mass of the black hole.
Its mass is approximately 8,000 times the mass of Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way. This object is 34 billion times the mass of the Sun and engulfs the equivalent of one Sun every day. According to Fuyan Bian, astronomer at the European Southern Observatory (ESO):
We knew we were dealing with a very massive black hole when we realized its rapid growth rate. How much black holes can swallow depends on how much mass they already have. So for this object to be gobbling up matter at such a high rate, we think it could become a new record holder. And now we know it.
It is hidden within the massive galaxy Holm 15A, 700 million light years from Earth. They arrived at their mass estimate after capturing images of stars orbiting the hole, and using a model to calculate its size. Holm 15A's supermassive black hole is not only the largest to date, but it is also four to nine times larger than expected.
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The news
A new black hole is discovered and it is the most massive that has been seen so far: the equivalent of 34 billion suns
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.