The Universe never ceases to amaze me.
 |
| NASA-ESA Artist's Concept |
Astronomers have just announced the discovery of a SUPERMASSIVE black hole (SMBH) that is FIVE times larger than our own Milky Way Galaxy's (MWG) SMBH in a dwarf galaxy 1/500th the size of the MWG. That is impressive.
Astronomers are pretty sure that supermassive black holes (SMBH) reside at the center of larger galaxies like the MWG. Some of these SMBHs are millions or even billions of times the mass of our Sun. It is not known which comes first, the SMBH or the galaxy but it is pretty certain that the two are connected to the lives and evolution of galaxies.
But to discover a SMBH this large in such a small dwarf galaxy only 300 light years across is a major find. The SMBH in M-60 UCD-1 makes up 15% of the dwarf galaxy's mass; there are an estimated 140 million stars in the galaxy.
This discovery will help in the search for more SMBHs in the cores of other dwarf galaxies and may lead to an important understanding of galaxy formation and evolution..
Amazing….
Sky Guy in VA
No comments:
Post a Comment