Astronomers have confirmed the discovery of an ultramassive black hole with a mass of approximately 36 billion times that of the Sun, located about 5 billion light-years away in the Cosmic Horseshoe galaxy system. This black hole, situated at the center of the luminous red galaxy LRG3-757, is notable for its immense gravitational influence, which creates an Einstein ring by bending the light of a more distant bluish galaxy. The finding challenges existing theories about the limits of black hole growth and the early universe. Separately, the supermassive black hole TON 618, with a mass estimated at 66 billion solar masses, remains one of the largest black holes ever discovered. Additionally, astronomers have identified the oldest and most distant black hole in the galaxy CAPERS-LRD-z9, which formed roughly 500 million years after the Big Bang and has a mass of about 50 million solar masses. These discoveries provide new insights into black hole formation and growth across cosmic history.
Eye of Sauron: using Very Long Baseline Array observation, researchers created this image of very high-energy blazar PKS 1424+240. https://t.co/Wl8OWwYjxC
Two stars and a black hole. The Large Magellanic Cloud contains a bright double star cluster called NGC 1850. In addition to many young stars, it has a companion black hole with a mass of about 11 Suns. https://t.co/27ZDAKygux
Nicknamed “The Ghost Head Nebula,” NGC 2080 is a stellar nursery in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy. Its two luminous “eyes” are clouds of hydrogen and oxygen, glowing brightly as they’re energized by newly formed stars. (Credit: NASA/ESA & Mohammad Heydari-Malayeri) https://t.co/FCUQ7KRxRq