Biggest, baddest black hole ever 11 Jan 2008, 0000 hrs IST,AGENCIES
AUSTIN (TEXAS): A black hole, 18 billion times more massive than the Sun, has been confirmed by researchers at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society on Wednesday thereby shattering the cosmic scales.
Even though researchers suggested black holes up to this mass might exist in quasars, this is the first direct confirmation of such a behemoth, reports space.com. The hefty gravity well is six times more massive than the previous record and is orbited by a smaller black hole, which allowed the measurement of the giant’s mass.
Black holes can’t be seen, but astronomers detect them by noting how other objects are affected by the tremendous gravity created in tremendously small sphere of space. The binary black hole system powers a quasar known as OJ287, which is located 3.5 billion light-years from us in the constellation Cancer.
The quasar - an overwhelming beacon of light associated with a developing galaxy - has been studied in greater detail than most quasars. Quasars are thought to be powered by gas falling into giant black holes boasting millions or billions of solar masses. Though smaller than the solar system, a quasar can outshine an entire galaxy.
This particular quasar has a regularly pulsing light signal with two major pulses every 12 years. The first two pulses were observed in 1994-1995, and the first one of the next set in 2005. The observations helped astronomers refine their computer models, predicting the next pulse would come on September 13, 2007.
Mauri Valtonen of the Tuorla Observatory in Finland, who presented the study, says there is a simple physical explanation for the 12-year pulsing.
An international network of astronomers operating telescopes across the globe took part in monitoring the quasar in September and October.