Massive black hole discovered

Published on 29/11/2012 00:28

ASTRONOMERS have discovered a mammoth black hole containing as much mass as 
17 billion suns.

The monster object is more than 11 times wider than the orbit of Neptune, the eighth planet in the Solar System.

It lies at the heart of a small lens-shaped galaxy called “NGC1277”, 220 million light years away in the constellation Perseus.

The black hole makes up an enormous 14 per cent of the galaxy’s mass. Other black holes found at the centres of galaxies only account for around 0.1 per cent.

Black holes are formed from matter collapsing to the point where normal laws of physics break down.