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12-Billion-Solar-Mass Black Hole Discovered

sciencehabit writes: A team of astronomers has discovered what is, in galactic terms, a monstrous baby: a gigantic black hole of 12 billion solar masses in a barely newborn galaxy, just 875 million years after the big bang. It's roughly 3000 times the size of our Milky Way's central black hole. To have grown to such a size in so short a time, it must have been munching matter at close to the maximum physically possible rate for most of its existence. Its large size and rate of consumption also makes it the brightest object in that distant era, and astronomers can use its bright light to study the composition of the early universe: how much of the original hydrogen and helium from the big bang had been forged into heavier elements in the furnaces of stars.

4 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. Sucking in everything around it by Alain+Williams · · Score: 4, Funny

    I did not realise that bankers were around as early as 875 million years after the big bang.

  2. Re:Oh? by Thanshin · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yea, but it cannot do it for it's whole life without stopping to rest...

    Yes it can. As long as it steps on a landmine before getting tired.

  3. Re:Oh? by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 4, Funny

    "the space is at 100% of its capacity to hold matter" You can say that, but that doesn't make it so.

    OK, Einstein. You win. You've conclusively proven that there is indeed nothing limiting how fast a black hole can grow, and you can now collect your Nobel Prize in physics.

  4. Re:Oh? by Longjmp · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm in tears...
    An AC on slashdot with an on-topic, reasonable and comprehensible explanation...
    I think last I've seen that must have been around 1912 or so. Thank you! *sniff*

    --
    There are fewer illiterates than people who can't read.