A finding that could turn supermassive black hole theories on their backs.
Astronomers have spotted one of this supermassive blackhole. It was found inside a tiny galaxy 157 light-years away and about 500 times smaller than the Milky Way.
The important part will be to see if the team can find more black holes like it, and that’s something they’re already starting to work on after the discovery inside of galaxy M60-UCD1.
“It’s very much like a pinprick in the sky,” said lead researcher Anil Seth, an astrophysicist at the University of Utah, of M60-UCD1 during an online press briefing Tuesday (Sept. 16).
Seth said that he realized something unique was happening when he saw the plot for stellar motions inside of M60-UCD1, based on statistics from the Gemini North Telescope located in Hawaii.
Astronomers have spotted one of this supermassive blackhole. It was found inside a tiny galaxy 157 light-years away and about 500 times smaller than the Milky Way.
The important part will be to see if the team can find more black holes like it, and that’s something they’re already starting to work on after the discovery inside of galaxy M60-UCD1.
“It’s very much like a pinprick in the sky,” said lead researcher Anil Seth, an astrophysicist at the University of Utah, of M60-UCD1 during an online press briefing Tuesday (Sept. 16).
Seth said that he realized something unique was happening when he saw the plot for stellar motions inside of M60-UCD1, based on statistics from the Gemini North Telescope located in Hawaii.
The stars in the center of the galaxy were orbiting a lot faster than the ones at the edge. He explained that the velocity was unforeseen given the type of stars that are in the galaxy.
“Immediately when I saw the stellar motions map, I knew we were seeing something exciting,” Seth said. “I knew pretty much right away there was an interesting result there.”
His team is set to look at numerous other galaxies such as M60-UCD1, but only seven to eight others would be bright enough from Earth to perform these measurements, he said.
Seth stated that further work will more than likely require a tool such as the impending Thirty-Meter Telescope. Moreover, he has research interests in globular clusters — vast groups of stars — and plans a visit to Hawaii in the next month to pursuit for black holes findings in these objects as well.
Universe Today. Surprise! Tiny Galaxy Sports A Huge Black Hole, And There Could Be More Like It, 17 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.
“Immediately when I saw the stellar motions map, I knew we were seeing something exciting,” Seth said. “I knew pretty much right away there was an interesting result there.”
His team is set to look at numerous other galaxies such as M60-UCD1, but only seven to eight others would be bright enough from Earth to perform these measurements, he said.
Seth stated that further work will more than likely require a tool such as the impending Thirty-Meter Telescope. Moreover, he has research interests in globular clusters — vast groups of stars — and plans a visit to Hawaii in the next month to pursuit for black holes findings in these objects as well.
Universe Today. Surprise! Tiny Galaxy Sports A Huge Black Hole, And There Could Be More Like It, 17 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.
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