Black Hole Discovered

Exciting news from the world of astronomy. This Wednesday evening, a new black hole was discovered by a team of scientists at the University of Texas's MacDonald Observatory. The galaxy the black hole has been discovered in has been dubbed NGC 1277, and the shear mass of this black hole is astounding. The black hole, scientists discovered, is about 17 billion times the size of the sun, and makes up about 14 percent of its host galaxy's mass, compared with the 0.1 percent a normal black hole would represent. But the black hole wasn't just discovered. Remco van den Bosch, the study's lead author, says that he and his team of scientists took a year to double-check and submit their research paper before releasing it to the public on Wednesday. The size of it is no laughing matter either. A comparison of the size of the galaxy and a revolution of Earth around the Sun can be found here at: 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/images/black-hole-most-massive-ill.jpg 

The location of the supermassive black hole is 220 million light-years away in the constellation Perseus, so we won't have to worry about getting sucked away in a black hole. According to Karl Gebhardt of the University of Texas, the galaxy is almost all black hole. 

Previously, the galaxy NGC 4486B was found to have the most massive black hole at 11 percent of its mass.

Now, more about the galaxy. NGC 1277 is a lenticular galaxy, giving it the same spiral as the Milky Way’s spiral but without the tail on the end. Gebhardt and his team of scientists estimate that "the stars located in the galaxy would be moving 10 times faster (218 miles a second) than in other comparable galaxies due to the immense size of the black hole, and that near the event horizon — the edge of the black hole where nothing can escape its pull — some stars could be ripped apart." The youngest stars in the galaxy are 8 billion years old. That's twice the age of our own Sun.

Sounds serious. But wait. There's more.


A “Massive Galaxy Survey” is being conducted, and the survey includes 700 nearby galaxies with masses that weigh in on the extreme. Even though there are around 100 galaxies still left to go, they observed NGC 1277 and “five other compact galaxies,” all of which could also have “over-massive” black holes. So instead of dealing with one, there could potentially be five.

Scientists are trying to find the biggest black hole in the entire universe. So far, this one appears to be the winner, considering the closet competitor is in the galaxy NGC 1186B. The black hole located there takes up 11% of the central mass.

Now, you may be thinking, "How is this all possible?" Scientists at the University of Texas use an astronomical instrument called the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, which measures the amount of light coming from the galaxies they're measuring.

We're safe. For now.

If you'd like more information on the black holes that the MacDonald Observatory in the University of Texas has documented a list at http://blackholes.stardate.org.