Black Hole 100,000 Times Bigger Than The Sun Discovered In The Milky Way
Astronomers have discovered yet another giant black hole hiding within the Milky Way, but this one is unusual.
The black hole is about 100,000 more massive than the sun and this discovery can help scientists help scientists shed new light on the process by which galaxies grow.
Using the using the Nobeyama radio telescope, the discovery was made by astronomers in Japan. They spotted the black hole while exploring a cloud of molecular gas located near the center of the Milky Way, in which the gas moved at vastly different speeds.
Located near the clump of gas was a source of radio waves resembling those of Sagittarius A, the massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
As they studied the cloud, the researchers saw a clump of gas toward the center of the cloud that appeared to be moved around by massive gravitational forces.
What is unusual about the black hole is that this is a new type of black hole. Previous discoveries have showed existence of large and small black holes, but his one is a mid-sized. Until now there has been very little evidence of mid-size black holes, mostly because they are very difficult to detect.
It is not clear how the black hole came to that location, but researchers hope that when more is done and the find is confirmed, the mid-sized black hole could explain how giant black holes at the centers of galaxies are formed—by swallowing nearby mid-sized black holes, perhaps.