Astronomers Biggest Black Hole Mass Calculations

Measuring 6.6 billion solar mass black hole at the center of the galaxy M87 is the largest black hole in which the masses have been measured precisely.

By using a telescope Frederick C. Gillett Gemini on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, a team of astronomers calculate the mass of the black hole, which is larger than the black hole located at the center of the Milky Way, which is about 4 million solar masses.

Astronomer Karl Gebhardt of the University of Texas, Austin, presented the results of the research team on Wednesday, January 12th, the 217th meeting of the American Astronomical Society. He said that the black hole horizon, which is 20 billion miles, four times larger than the orbit of Neptune and three times larger than the orbit of Pluto. In other words, black holes could “swallow” the whole of our solar system.

Previously astronomers had estimated the mass of the black hole is about 3 billion times the solar system, so their results are somewhat surprising. To calculate the mass of the black hole, astronomers measure how fast the stars orbiting around the black hole. They found that, on average, these stars orbit at speeds close to 500 miles per second (for comparison, the sun orbits the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy about 220 miles per second). From these observations, astronomers can deduce the most accurate estimate of the mass of the black hole that is super great.

Astronomers believe that black holes grow to very large M87 by joining with several other black holes. M87 is the largest galaxy in the nearby universe, and thought to be formed by the merger of approximately 100 galaxies are smaller.

Although the black hole is located about 50 million light-years away, he was regarded as our neighbors in the perspective of cosmology. Because of their large size and relative proximity, astronomers thought that it was the first black hole that they can actually “see”. So far, no one has ever found evidence of direct observations of black holes. Their existence is inferred from indirect evidence, in particular how they affect their surroundings.

M87 black hole may not be long retain his title, because astronomers plan to continue looking for and calculate measures of many other black holes. One planned project involves linking telescopes around the world to observe the universe at wavelengths shorter than 1 millimeter. This will probably allow scientists to detect the black shadow of the M87 black hole horizon. It may also allow scientists to calculate the size of the other black hole located in a galaxy about 3.6 billion light years.