Astronomers spotted massive black hole in tiny galaxy

The supermassive black hole is 4,000 times larger than the one discovered in the Milky Way.

11:57 01 December 2012

Astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole residing in a tiny galaxy using nine-meter Hobby-EberlyTelelescope in Texas. This is surprising as the black hole is estimated to be 4,000 times larger compared to the one discovered at the center of Milky Way, and it has a mass some 17 billion times compare to Sun.

This contradicts the theory that black holes’ growth depends on the size of their host galaxies.

The supermassive black hole lies at the center of a small lens-shaped galaxy called NGC1277, and it covers 14percent of the galaxy’s mass. In addition, it is more than 11 times wider compared to Neptune’s orbit, the eight planet in the Solar System.

“This is a really oddball galaxy. It's almost all black hole,” said lead scientist Dr Karl Gebhardt.

Detailed information about the newly discovered massive black hole can be found in the Journal Nature. This discovery, according to scientists, could change the theories of how galaxies and black holes form and evolve.